What does ‘mental health’ mean? I see people say they need to be happy to protect their mental health. Is it the same as happiness? Or is it simply the absence of mental illness?
The formal World Health Organisation (WHO) definition of mental health is “A state of well-being in which the individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully and is able to make a contribution to community”.
As you can see, there are at least four components to this definition and for one to claim to be mentally healthy, each has to be achieved.
The first requires that the individual has a subjective sense of well-being, meaning that one does not have to be told that they are well. One has that good feel.
The second is also subjective in that it is the individual who experiences the realisation of his/her abilities. The importance of this provision is the fact that what one perceives as their potential might not be the same as the perception of a friend, neighbour or even parent or spouse.
It is often observed that well-meaning but ignorant loved ones push others to achieve goals and targets not aspired to by the individual in question. This is a common source of angst in relationships.
The ability to cope with the normal stresses of life is part of the definition because of the recognition that if one is alive, there will be ‘normal stresses’ of life such as are common in relationships at home, work and in the community.
A mentally healthy person ought to find healthy ways of navigating these daily stresses occasioned by temporary money problems, overdemanding colleagues at work, and even some existential questions to do with one’s faith.
The next component might find its origin in the Holy Bible. Genesis 3:19 tells us “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return”.
The fact of being mentally healthy requires that one can work productively and fruitfully.
Millions of people who on the surface look fit and healthy fail the test of being in good mental health upon the fact that they do not, on account of depressive illness for example, work fruitfully.
Contributing to one’s community is a rather unexpected inclusion in this formal definition but when one thinks about it a little it begins to make sense in the sense that we are social animals who live in communities that must be nurtured by those who benefit from living in the community.
It also implies that no man is an island and for healthy living we must live and to some extent, support each other in some way. Being of service to others is part of the definition of good mental health.
You have also asked about happiness and perhaps how that links to mental health. The reality is that if one does not enjoy good mental health as defined above, it is unlikely that they will have the emotional state associated with happiness which is “an enduring state of mind consisting of not only feelings of joy, contentment and other positive emotions but also of sense that one’s life is meaningful and valued”.
Very similar to the WHO's current definition of mental health.
In some extreme mental conditions such as in a manic episode, one might feel very happy and contented but fail the test of good health on account of other components such as the inability to work productively.
It must be clear that good mental health as formally defined, is a positive condition that requires that one has both subjective and objective attributes.
