Mental health week is celebrated in October across Australia, and promotes the importance of Mental Health and Wellbeing, and aims to reduce the stigma associated with Mental Health.
Good mental health is more than just the absence of mental illness. It means you are in a state of wellbeing where you feel good and function well in the world.
According to the World Health Organization, good mental health is when you can:
If you have good mental health, you might have emotions including happiness, love, joy and compassion, and you feel generally satisfied with life.
You are also likely to feel like you belong to a community and are making a contribution to society.
You might also have a sense of spiritual wellbeing, a sense of meaning or purpose, and feelings of peace.
But sometimes I wake in the morning with a sever case of the ‘I couldn’t be bothered’.
This too has a name – its called ‘Languishing’
It’s a newly defined mental health condition – identified by those of us who have generally good mental health conditions – but sometimes just ‘couldn’t be bothered’.
An important part of having good mental health is building resilience. This is when you can cope with unexpected changes and challenges in your life through drawing on your inner strength and using the networks around you.
Resilience is important for your mental health and can be learned.
People who have resilience can manage stress better, which means they are less likely to develop mental illnesses like depression and anxiety. You can learn coping skills to build your resilience and ensure good mental health.
But I’m not the expert.
But I do know we all need to look after our mental health.
And thank those who know more about these issues than us.
