Is a psychological state of well-being

characterized by a continuing personal growth, a

sense of purpose in life, self-acceptance and
positive relations with others.
CRAB... or two
or three to use in your MSN messeng

PERSONALITY- is the total uniqueness or

pattern of characteristics of the individual
 Mental Hygiene-is the science of the
preservation of mental health.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF PEOPLE WITH GOOD
MENTAL HEALTH
 A. They feel comfortable about themselves.
 B. They feel right about other people
 C. They are able to meet the demands of life.
 FACTORS AFFECTING MENTAL
HEALTH
 1. HEREDITY FACTOR
 Traits of the parents and ancestors are transmitted to
the children through their genes.Intelligence and
feeblemindedness are inherited.
 Heredity- is the passing of traits from parents to
offspring. It shapes one’s personality and behavior
and makes people different.
 2. Physical Factor
 A healthy body makes a healthy mind. Unhealthy
condition makes life abnormal. The physical
condition of the individual has a direct effect on his or
her mental health.
 Socio-Cultural Factor
 Children develop attitudes and behavioral
patterns from past experiences.
 The home being the first environment of the
children influences their behavior and attitude.
 The community in which an individual belongs
may contribute to the development of his/her
mental health.
 School and religious institutions may also help in
molding child’s personality.
History of Mental Health
 During the Stone Age , a person with mental
disorder was believed to be possessed by evil spirits
that lived in the mind. Boring holes in the skulls of
the mentally ill person would release the evil
spirits that dwelled in the mind, thereby curing
the illness.
 MIDDLE AGES – the mentally ill person possessed
by the devil was believed to have supernatural
powers to harm others. The remedy was to burn
the affected person.
18TH century
 Mental illness was considered a shame in the family.
 The mentally ill persons were put in jail as a solution
to the problem. The ill persons were chained and
hidden from public view.
 Before the beginning of the 19th century, new movements
in England and France began. The chains of mentally
ill persons were broken. In 1812 , an American social
reformer named Dr. Benjamin Rush advocated
humane treatment for the mentally ill persons. His
works on mental disorder opened another field in
medicine called PSYCHIATRY, the study and
treatment of mental disease. Dorothea Dix, a young
American school teacher, founded the first public
hospitals for mentally ill persons in 1840’s.
The acceptance of this change of treatment
came very slowly.Most hospitals only provided
custodial care. It took almost a hundred years
for patients to receive effective treatment,
 Clifford Beers – a former patient ,published a book
in 1908 entitled “A Mind That Found Itself”. This
book brought awareness and truth about mental
hospitals . The Mental Health Association was
organized.
 Today, mentally ill persons receive full humane
treatment in all mental hospitals with funding
from government. Also nongovernment agencies
offer donations for insane patients.