Mental health, mental hygiene and mental wellness are all terms used to describe the absence of mental illness. By this definition, mental status has two possibilities: either health or illness.
However other experts consider mental health as a continuum. Thus an individual's mental health may have many different possible values. Using this model, it has been suggested that mental wellness can be a positive attribute, such that a person can become more "mentally healthy", even if they do not have any diagnosable mental illness. This definition of mental health includes emotional well being, having the capacity to live a full and creative life and also the flexibility to deal with its problems. Many therapies and self-help books claim to be able to increase the mental wellness of otherwise healthy people.
Merriam-Webster defines mental health as "A state of emotional and psychological well-being in which an individual is able to use his or her cognitive and emotional capabilities, function in society, and meet the ordinary demands of everyday life."
Mental health was first described as "mental hygiene" by Clifford Whittingham Beers in 1908, who founded the National Committee for Mental Hygiene in 1909 and actively campaigned for the rights of the mentally ill. Dr.
Opposing viewpoints to biological psychiatry theories include those of anti-psychiatry advocates, some of whom are psychiatrists, who contend psychiatric patients do not necessarily have a mental illness, but in fact are individuals who do not ascribe to the conventional belief system, or consensus reality, shared by most other people in their culture or race.
Standard 5 of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Health Framework (1999) recommends specific topics to be taught in emotional, social, and mental health education by the end of 5th, 8th, and 12th grade.
The Health Education Standards (2005) recommend that the mental, social, and emotionalhealth education be taught in grades K-12.
However, the South Dakota Health Education Standards (2000) recommend students in grades K-12 be taught the interrelationships between mental, emotional, social, and physical health and their impact on the body and ones ability to communicate.
Feeds |
Contact