Definition of mental health

“Mental health implies the capacity in an individual to form harmonious relations with others
and to participate in or contribute constructively to change in his social and physical
environment. It also implies his ability to a harmonious and balanced satisfaction of his own
potentially conflicting instinctive drives in that it reaches anintegrated synthesis rather than the
denial of satisfaction to certain instinctive tendencies as a means of avoiding the thwarting of
others.” (WHO Expert Committee, 1950).

Allport (1955) deals with healthy personality prescribes the study of normal and mature adults
instead of neurotics. He indicates that healthy persons were not controlled by unconscious
conflicts while neurotic adults possessed these conflicts.

Mental health represents a psychological condition which is characterised by mental peace,

harmony and content. It is identified by the absence of disabling and debilitating symptoms,
both mental and somatic in the person (Schneiders, 1964).

According to Maslow (1970) people who have fulfilled their potentialities to the greatest degree
will lead us to the formulation of a ‘positive psychology’ and will rid us from the negative
approaches. He is always concerned to study the best, the healthiest and the most mature side
of human nature.

Sortorives (1983) states that “mental health is a state of balance between the individual and
the surrounding world, a state of harmony between oneself and others, a coexistence between
the realities of the self and those of other people as also of the environment.”

Cautioning us against confusing mental health with mental illness, Kumar (1992) says that
mental health serves as an index to show the extent to which the person has been able to meet
her/his environmental demands- social, emotional and physical. However, when s/he finds
herself trapped in a situation s/he dose not have matching strategies to deal with effectively,
s/he gets her/himself mentally strained. This mental strain is generally reflected in symptoms
like anxiety, tension, restlessness or hopelessness among others. If it is felt for too long and too
extensively by the person, these symptoms may take a definite from (or get ‘syndromised’),
representing a given illness. Mental health, according to Kumar, is a study of pre-illness mental
condition of the person concerned.

According to Park (1995), “Mental health is thus the balanced development of the individual’s
personality and emotional attitudes which enable him to live harmoniously with the fellow
men.”
Singh (2000) defined mental health as the ability to establish and nurture loving relationships
with relevant others, to discern and engage in rewarding work, to continually develop one’s
understanding of self and relevant others, to meaningfully contribute one’s mite towards
promotion of well-being of community to which one belongs without losing one’s own identity,
independence and autonomy and to think and behave with an adequate blend of objectivity
and sensitivity in all kinds of situations which one happens to come across

A person’s mental health can be inferred from her/his behavior. A person’s behaviour may be
viewed or interpreted differently by others, depending on their values and beliefs, Therefore,
mental health is a state of emotional, psychological and social wellness confirmed by satisfying
interpersonal relationships, effective behaviour and coping, a positive self-concept and
emotional stability (Videbeck, 2001).

Mental health is a component of holistic health (Bhargava, 2005a, 2005b) which includes
physical, mental, emotional, social, cultural health, each associated with the other. Bhargava
and Aurora (2006) have pointed out that psychological well-being brought out the total human
health with a quality and excellence. Therefore, it is highly recommended that a good health,
whether physical or mental, needs the all-round psychological well-being because it is related
with reality and capabilities of the person on one hand and work force to fight with problems
and challenges on the other.

Bhargava goes on to explain, by mental health we mean the proper and balanced development
of intellect, creativity, reasoning, emotionally, mindfulness, initiative and maintenance of
mutually rewarding social relationship ability to face day-to-day problems and multifold
challenges without losing patience, provide solutions and relaxation with self-confidence,
assertiveness and enthusiasm, realizing the troubles and sufferings of others, engaging for
constructive and welfare activities and be playful and rejoicing on occasions. There are
multiplicities of factors which play a determining role in shaping a mentally healthy man. These
are as such-personal resources, social support, integrated personal structure, quality of
emotional life, good family atmosphere, proper community understanding, cultural and
religious harmony, etc, (Bhargava, 2006)

Tripathi, et al (2006) have pointed to the Indian perceptions which can make a positive
contribution to the state of mental health in the modern life. Egolessness, the state of
Sthitapragya and Anasakti, the state of Maitri, Karuna, Mudita and Upeksha are the different
perceptions as given by the classical Indian texts, complement and supplement holistic view of
our mental health.

Mental health, however, is the positive capacity for living and enjoying the good life.
Examinqation of the internal psychological states and process, ie, chittavritti is one of the
central themes in the classical Indian texts. The Indian thoughts seek to understand and analyse
natural inclination, desires, passions, etc, so as to consciously control them. The object of this
control is to uplift and refine human personality by our coping with and eliminating negative
emotions and negative values like trishna, raga, dwesh and by replacing them with positive
emotions and values like love and compassion

According to Maslow and Mittelmann (1951), the following constitute normal psychological
health:

1. Adequate feeling of security,

2. Adequate self-evaluation,
3. Adequate spontaneity and emotionality,
4. Efficient contact with reality,
5. Adequate bodily desires and the ability to gratify them,
6. Adequate self-knowledge
7. Integration and consistency of personality,
8. Adequate life goals,
9. Ability to learn from experience,
10.Ability to satisfy the requirements of the group
11.Adequate emancipation from the group of culture.

Schultz (1977) considered the following seven criteria for mental health:
1. Extension of the sense of self,
2. Warm relationship of self with others,
3. Emotional security,
4. Realistic perception,
5. Skill and assignments,
6. Self-objectification
7. Unifying philosophy of life

As against the numerous criteria suggested by Maslow and Mittleman, and Schultz cited above,
Park and Park (1977) gave only three main characteristics:

1. One feels comfortable about oneself, one feels reasonably secure and adequate, one accepts
one’s plus points and limitations and having the self-respect and confidence.
2. One feels right towards others, therefore s/he develops friendship and loving behavior, s/he
may develop the sense of trust in others. Therefore, s/he can take the responsibility for her/his
neighbors and fellow human beings.

3. A mentally healthy person is able to meet the demands of life. S/he does something about
the problems as they arise. S/he sets reasonable goals for self, shoulders daily responsibilities,
thinks better about self and take own decisions. S/he is not howled by own emotions of ‘fear,
anger, love or guilt.’

Johnson (1997) showed how a person’s mental health is a dynamic or ever changing state:

1. The person is autonomous and independent and can work interdependently or cooperatively
with others. He /She may consider other’s decisions and behaviour also but not be dictated by
others.

2. The person has an orientation towards growth and maximizing one’s potential.

3. The person can face the challenges of day-to-day living and tolerate life’s uncertainties with a
hope and positive outlook without knowing the future.

4. The person must have the self-esteem and s/he has the realistic awareness of his/her
abilities and limitations

5. The person can deal with and influence the environment in a capable, competent and
creative manner.

6. The person should have reality orientation and he may act accordingly.

7. The person has the ability to manage stress, can tolerate life stresses and feelings of anxiety
or grief, he can get the support from family and friends to cope with crises, knowing that stress
will not last forever

Indian perspectives on mental health can be understood through Bhatnagar (2000) and Singh
(2002). Some of the important indicators suggested by Bhatnagar are

1. Acceptance of oneself and others in totality.

2. Spontaneity, creativity and freshness of vision and a healthy sense of humour.

3. Healthy reactions, capacity to understand problems, ability to make decisions and solution-
oriented attitude.
4. Personal autonomy, authenticity and responsibility for oneself.

5. Healthy interpersonal relationship and adaptability and quality of life.

6. Positive thinking, awareness and maximization of one’s potentials.

7. Emotional maturity, sensitivity, empathy and ability to manage emotions effectively.

8. Realization of peace within one’s own self and creation of harmony with others.

9. Ability to contribute in a creative and constructive manner to bring about the desired
changes in the physical environment and sociocultural context.

Singh (2002) found mentally healthy person having the following characteristics:

1. Development of emotion, creativity, intellect and spirituality.

2. Maintenance of mutually rewarding social relationship.

3. Ability to face problems and challenges without losing patience and to respond to them with
full strength and draw lessons for future.

4. Possessions of self confidence, assertiveness, sensitivity and empathy with suffering of

others.

5. Prepare constructively for joyful utilization of loneliness and participate in play and fun.

6. To laugh on the occasions which are really amusing, joyful, wonderful and amazing.

Bhargava and Bhargava (2002) have enumerated some indicators of sound mental health as
bellow:

1. To accept oneself and others in totality.

2. One should have the ability to analyses one’s extended self. S/he must recognize her/his plus
points, accept limitations and should feel comfortable and peaceful within her/himself, to set
reasonable goals for her/himself and should have the ability to take own decisions.

3. S/he should have the ability to manage self by analyzing self-concept, self-actualization.

4. As a person s/he is the part of society, so s/he should have the healthy interpersonal
relationship creating harmony with other potentialities, to understand her/his social
responsibilities and solve the problems of community as a whole.
5. One should prepare one’s life planning keeping in view of her/his skills and capabilities, s/he
should be very systematic within realistic perspective of surroundings.

6. One should be able to meet the demands of life and should shoulder one’s daily
responsibilities.

7. One should be adaptable to understand the problems relating to any phase of one’s life and
try to solve them in that particular situation.

8. One should be able to contribute in a creative and constructive manner to bring about the
desired changes in the physical environment, social and cultural context to make environment
lively.

9. One should have a clear vision in every sphere of life, think positively and innovatively to take
quick decisions.

10. One should be radical, flexible and amenable to change in accordance with the demands
and time.

11. One must keep in mind the existence of the Almighty, ie, ‘Ishwar’ and any action or thought
should be samarpit (dedicated) to the Almighty power of the world and never be consequence-
oriented. This will give peace and happiness throughout life.

12. One must develop the sense of humor, delightfulness and enthusiasm with managing
emotions effectively so that emotionally balanced person may feel emotionally secure.

13. One must be adjusted if he keeps the requirements of reality prevailing values and norms.
He should also keep in mind three things – time, place, and person – at the time of taking any
step.

14. One should have the competence to discriminate between right and wrong, good and bad.
He should be able to ignore fear of unknown or speculative thinking and have the ability to
control fear for better mental health.

15. One should develop his integrated personality with consistency of behavior.

16. At least one should fix the satisfactory level in accordance with all realities of his life, only
then one will feel life satisfaction. Instead of criticizing others, one should evaluate and
overcome one’s weaknesses.
Factors influencing mental health

Personality structure, kinship, caste, class, friend, circle, neighbourhood, work organisations,
associations, clubs, community, culture, religion, etc, play a determining role in shaping the
mental health of a person. Pradhan, et al (2006) have divided these into six factors that
influence a person’s mental health.

1. Individual factors include a person’s biologic make up having a sense of harmony in one’s
life, vitality, finding meaning in life, emotional resilience or hardiness, spirituality, having
positive identity.

2. Interpersonal factors include effective communication, helping

others, intimacy and maintaining a balance of separateness and
connection (sense of belongingness), family and social support.

3. Social-cultural factors include having a sense of communication,

access to adequate resources, intolerance of violence, social
organization, time orientation, environmental control.

4. Self-esteem plays a significant role in determining mental health,

people with high self-esteem experience less stress and strain and
shoulder their responsibilities very well.

5. Internal locus of control is associated with mental health. They take

responsibility for their own actions and view themselves as having
control over their destiny. They are managed by themselves rather than
by external factors.

6. Emotional intelligence is positively higher related with general

health, healthy coping style, empathy, happiness, whole constructs like
alexithymia, neuroticism, stressful events and mood fluctuations are
negatively correlated. (Pradhan et al, 2006)
Mental health: Importance of home and school

From the discussions in the previous pages, it is clear that mental health means
ability to balance in one’s daily living and, as Bhatia (1982) wrote, the ability to
face and balance the reality of life. The discussion also makes it clear that mental
health is a complex phenomenon and depends on a set of familiarly personal,
psychological and social variables.

Hadfield (1952) holds that mental is the harmonious functioning of the whole
personality. Khan (2003) pointed out that among the two principal agencies
influencing the child’s adjustment and mental health, home is the most important
agency, responsible for the adjustment, maladjustment and promotion of mental
health of the children. The other is the school. Thus to tackle the problem of
mental health in society it is necessary to focus on the conditions at home and
school.

The high incidence of mental and behavioural problems among Indian children is
increasing presumably for reasons of maladjustment to the changing social milieu
and family environment. The process of modernization, accelerated by scientific
and technological developments, has gradually eroded the traditional, social and
cultural mooring, bringing in its wake the flux of extra-family relations and social
and cultural norms which make conflicting demands on the child’s psyche. The
high expectations of parents, created by the new image of success in an
increasingly commercialized society, takes a heavy toll of the child (Sinha, 2006)

Adolescents’ mental health

Havighurst (1973) points to some of the developmental tasks of adolescence:

1. Achieving new and more mature relations with age-mates of both sexes.

2. Achieving a masculine or feminine social role.

3. Accepting one’s physique and using the body effectively

4. Achieving emotional independence from parents and other adults

5. Preparing for marriage and family life.

6. Preparing for economic career

7. Acquiring a set of values and an ethical system as guide to behavior --

developing an ideology

8. Desiring and achieving socially responsible behaviour.

Mental health is an integral part of normal adolescent development in terms of

Core identity, values, and beliefs

 Ability to cope with intense emotions

 Personality style and way of relating with others

 Successful functioning of school, work or home

Enjoyment of and sense of purpose in life

 Respect for self and others

 Healthy expression of one’s feeling and thoughts

 Acceptance of responsibility for one’s actions and roles (Havighurst, 1973).

Adjustment
definitions of adjustment:
JC Coleman: Adjustment is the outcome of the individual’s
efforts to deal with stress and meet his needs.
Boring Langfield: Adjustment is the process by which a living
organism maintains a balance between its needs and the
circumstances that influence the satisfaction of those needs.
Lehner & Kube: Personal adjustment is a process of interaction
between ourselves and our environments. In this process we
can either adapt to the environment or alter it, satisfactory
personal adjustment depends on successful interaction.
James Draver: A state in which the needs of the individual on
one hand and the claims of the environment on the other, are
fully satisfied. Harmony between the individual and the
objective or the social environment. Adjustment means
modification to compensate for or meet special condition.
BB Woleman: A harmonious relationship with the environment
involving the ability to satisfy most of one’s needs and meet the
demands, both physical and social, that are put upon one
Adjustment is the established of a satisfactory relationship as
representing harmony, conformance, adaptation or the like. Webster,
1951

Adjustment is the continuous process in which a person varies his

behaviour to produce a more harmonious relationship between himself
and his environment. Gates and Jersild, 1948

Adjustment is the process by which a living organism maintains a

balance between its needs and the circumstances that influence the
satisfactions of these needs. Shaffer, 1961
Areas of adjustment
adjustment consists of personal as well as environment
components. These two aspects of adjustment can be further
subdivided into smaller aspects of personal and environmental
factors.
Bell (1958) has taken five areas of dimensions in his adjustment
inventory, namely, home, health, social, emotional and
occupational
Arkoff (1968) has enumerated the family, school or college,
vocation and marriage as the important areas of adjustment.
Joshi and Pandey (1964) in their research study covering school
and college students; have given 11 areas of dimensions of an
individual’s adjustment
1. Health and physical development.
2. Finance, living conditions and employment.
3. Social and recreational activities.
4. Courtship, sex and marriage.
5. Social psychological relations.
6. Personal psychological relations.
7. Moral and religious
8. Home and family.
9. Future-vocational and educational.
10.Adjustment to school and college work.
11.Curriculum and teaching
Characteristics of a well adjusted person
1. Awareness of his own strengths and limitations
2. Respecting himself and others:
3. An adequate level of aspiration
4. Satisfaction of basic needs
5. Absence of critical or fault-finding attitude
6. Flexibility in behaviour
7. The capacity to deal with adverse circumstances:
8. A realistic perception to world:
9. A feeling of ease with his surroundings
10.A balanced philosophy of life

psychoanalytic theory of personality, human behavior is the result of

three component parts of the mind:
1. The I.D

2. Ego

3. Superego

Dynamic interactions among these three basic parts of human brain

played an important role in shaping behavior and personality.

Following are the key features of these three components you need to
remember:

The I.D:

1. It is the only component of personality that is present in humans

from birth.

2. This aspect of personality is entirely unconscious and includes

instinctive and primitive behaviors.

3. “The id” is the source of all psychic energy, making it the primary
component of personality.

The Ego:

1. The Ego is the component of personality that is responsible for

dealing with reality.

2. According to Freud, the ego develops from the id and ensures that
the impulses of the id can be expressed in a manner acceptable in the
real world.

3. The ego functions in both the conscious, pre-conscious and

unconscious mind.
The Superego:

1. It is the aspect of personality that holds all of our internalized

moral standards and ideals that we acquire from both parents and
society- our sense of right and wrong.

2. The superego provides guidelines for making a judgment.

3. According to Freud, the superego begins to emerge at around the

age of 5.

(the emotions, beliefs and impulses) takes place in the unconscious and
is not viewable to us in the conscious mind. In particular, he used the
concept of repression to demonstrate that although an individual may
not remember something traumatic happening to them, this memory is
locked away in the unconscious. Yet importantly, these memories
remain active in the unconscious and can reappear in consciousness
under certain circumstances and can cause problems for us even in the
unconscious.

Our conscious mind, however, according to Freud makes up a very small

amount of our personality – as we are only aware of the small tip of the
iceberg of what is actually going on in our minds. Freud also added a
third level to our psyche known as the preconscious or subconscious
mind. This part of the mind is the one that although we are not
consciously aware of what’s in it at all times, we can retrieve
information and memories from it if prompted. This is one of the most
important Freudian contributions and is still very much used in
psychotherapy today.
 2. Alfred Adler (1870-1937). Disagreed with Freud's emphasis on
the unconscious, on instinctual drives, and on the importance of
sexuality. He felt that we are social creatures governed by social urges,
not by biological instincts. In Adler's view, the main driving force in
personality is a striving for superiority. A struggle to overcome
imperfections, an upward drive for competence, completion, and
mastery of shortcomings.

He felt that everyone experiences feelings of inferiority. This occurs

mainly because we begin life as small, weak, and relatively powerless
children surrounded by larger and more powerful adults. Feelings of
inferiority may also come from our personal limitations. The struggle for
superiority arises from such feelings. While striving for superiority, each
tries to compensate for different limitations, and each chooses a
different pathway to superiority. Adler believed that this situation
creates a unique style of life (or personality pattern) for each individual.
According to Adler the core of each person's style of life is formed by
age 5. (And valuable clues to a person's style of life are revealed by the
earliest memory that can be recalled.) However, later in his life, Adler
began to emphasize the existence of a creative self. By this he meant
that humans create their personalities through choices and experiences.

3. Karen Horney (1885-1952). Neo-Freudian. Faithful to most his ideas

--altered and rejected some and some of her own. She resisted Freud's
more mechanistic, biological, instinctive ideas. As a woman, Horney
rejected Freud's claim that "anatomy is destiny" --woven into Freudian
psychology holding that males are dominant or superior to females.
Horney was first to challenge obvious male bias in Freud's thinking. She
also disagreed with Freud about the cause of neurosis. Freud held that
neurotic (anxiety-ridden) individuals are struggling with forbidden id
drives that they fear they cannot control. Horney's view was that a core
of basic anxiety occurs when people feel isolated and helpless in a
hostile world. These feelings, she believed, are rooted in childhood.
Basic anxiety then causes troubled individuals to exaggerate a single
mode of interacting with others. Each of us can move toward others (by
depending on them for love, support, or friendship),we can move away
from others (by withdrawing, acting like a "loner," or being "strong"
and independent), or we can move against others (by attacking,
competing with, or seeking power over them). Emotional health reflects
a balance. Emotional problems tend to lock people into overuse of only
one of the three modes.

4. Carl Jung (1875-1961). Jung parted from Freud when he began to

develop his own ideas. He, like Freud, called the conscious part of the
personality the ego. However, he further noted that between the ego and
the outside world we often find a persona, or "mask." It is the "public
self." The persona is presented to others when people adopt particular
roles (as is necessary in most professions) or when they hide their deeper
feelings. Actions of the ego may reflect attitudes of introversion (in
which energy is mainly directed inward), or extroversion (in which
energy is mainly directed outward).

Personal unconscious was Jung's term for what Freud simply called the
unconscious. A storehouse for personal experiences, feelings, and
memories that are not directly knowable.

Collective unconscious, a deeper conscious shared by all humans --Jung

believed that from the beginning of time, all humans have had
experiences with birth, death, power, god figures, mother and father
figures, animals, the earth, energy, evil, rebirth, and so on. According to
Jung, such universals create archetypes: original ideas or patterns.
Found in the collective unconscious, archetypes are unconscious images
that cause us to respond emotionally to symbols of birth, death, energy,
animals, evil, and the like. Jung believed that he detected symbols of
such archetypes in the art, religion, myths, and dreams of every culture
and age.
Two particularly important archetypes are anima (representing the
female principle) and the animus (representing the male principle). Each
person has both. For full development, Jung thought it is essential for
both the "masculine" and "feminine" side of personality to be expressed.
The presence of the anima in males and the animus in females also
enable us to related to members of the opposite sex.

Jung regarded the self archetype as the most important of all. The self
archetype represents unity. Its existence causes a gradual movement
toward balance, wholeness, and harmony within the personality. Jung
felt that we become richer and more completely human when a balance
is achieved between the conscious and unconscious, the anima and
animus, thinking and feeling, sensing and intuiting, the persona and the
ego, introversion and extroversion. Jung was the first to use the term
self-actualization to describe a striving for completion and unity. He
believed that the self archetype is symbolized in every culture by
mandalas (magic circles) of one kind of another.