Mental Health: The Role of Well-Being

The mass media and our own stigma would still have us believe that "mental health" is a term that revolves around negative terms: sadness, violence, lethargy, apathy, angst, etc. While those terms may apply to certain types of mental health conditions, mental health also focuses on positive factors.

Carol Ryff's (1989) research on psychological well-being identified six positive factors involved in life satisfaction and happiness. Focusing on these in your daily life may help you not only maintain positive mental health, but create strong coping skills that can act as a buffer when depression or anxiety seem to be overwhelming.

Self-Acceptance
Accepting who you are, flaws and all, can help your overall sense of happiness. Don't try to live up to unrealistic expectations of the media or others, but rather take yourself for who you are and find a positive attitude toward yourself.

Positive Relations With Others
Having empathic, warm and trusting relationships with others is strongly related to positive mental health. In this day and age of social media relationships, it is our personal, face-to-face relationships that continue to offer the strongest boost to emotional well-being.

Autonomy
Independent, self-assertive behavior that allows one to regulate your behaviors from within, rather than externally, is linked to life satisfaction and well-being. Evaluate yourself according to your own standards, rather than the standards of others.

Environmental Mastery
Feeling like you have some control over your environment and managing your everyday affairs can help you maintain positive well-being. Take advantage of external opportunities, or create opportunities for positive experiences.

Purpose in Life
Frankl's (1959) Man's Search For Meaning explored the idea of meaningfulness and purpose in life. If one can find a goal and sense of direction for life, then it seems one can overcome almost anything. "He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how." ~Nietzche

Personal Growth
Being open to new experiences, realizing your potential, and being able to grow and improve your own sense of self and behavior is one way to maintain positive mental health. Stagnation is detrimental to health in many ways, so continue to grow and reach your potential throughout your life.

Notice that many of these factors are within your control, if you make the effort to mindfully incorporate them into your day. Work at maintaining your positive mental health!

Supporting Mental Health - Beyond Your Practice

Psychologists often support mental health through education, practice and research efforts within their job settings. However, there are numerous other ways to support positive mental health for individuals beyond the practice, research or education setting.


Here are some tips for supporting mental health beyond your practice:

1. Provide pro-bono work. 
This can include participating in prevention walks, doing volunteer work in the community, or being a resource for the media regarding psychological issues. For example, the Ohio Psychological Association and Central Ohio Psychological Association has co-sponsored a walking team for the Out of the Darkness Suicide Prevention Walks in Central Ohio for the last 7 years. This year the walking team raised over  $1800 to support direct suicide prevention efforts in the Central Ohio area and prevention research nationally. 

2. Organize community programs.
Psychologists are often excellent resources for health awareness, and can provide community programming within schools, libraries, YMCA's, etc. that target specific psychology topics. One good example is the VA Mental Health Fair, which is held in May during Mental Health Month. Each year the CoSR assist with the organization of speakers and booths so that veterans can increase their awareness of community resources and mental health support networks.

3. Educate colleagues.
Psychologists are often aware of resources and social advocacy efforts that their colleagues are not. Sharing this information, whether through a blog (e.g., OPA Member Kevin Arnold, Ph.D.'s "The Older Dad" for Psychology Today), twitter posts (e.g., @DrFinnerty, @ohpsychassn, @marylewisphd, @stress_doc), or listservs, can educate and assist colleagues in better serving their clients. 

4. Be an advocate.
Advocacy in psychology is often seen in the legislative realm, and effectively communicating with legislators on positive mental health legislation is a crucial part of supporting mental health. However, advocacy does not just mean testifying at legislative hearings or signing petitions. Advocacy could include emailing legislators, making phone calls, attending OPA's Legislative Day, or sharing information about relevant legislation with others. 

In today's world, time is precious and limited; however, many of these activities do not require a significant commitment of time and may positively benefit someone's mental health in ways we do not realize.

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This mission of the Ohio Psychological Association Committee on Social Responsibility (CoSR) is to promote and coordinate the involvement of psychologists in programs and projects in the community, including advancing a social justice agenda by applying the science and practice of psychology to human welfare, as well as advocating for the fair treatment of Ohio residents through education, training and public policy.

October 10th: World Mental Health Day

How This Works

On October 10, PsychCentral will post all the blog posts related to increasing awareness or people’s understanding of treatment for mental health issues and concerns.

The blog post can be about anything related to mental or emotional health, or its treatment. You can tell your story about how you first learned about your condition, and what kinds of challenges you faced to get treatment for it.

Use the hashtag #mhblogday on your tweets and Tweet @psychcentral to let us know about your blog entry, or email: blogparty at psychcentral.com.