A new positive mental health report is challenging our ideas about mental health, by identifying six essential “building blocks” of mental health that contribute to flourishing, as opposed to merely surviving. Published 10 April 2018, the report highlights that good mental health encompasses active, positive functioning — feeling engaged, alive, purposeful and connected — rather than just the absence of diagnosable mental disorder. For a public flooded with reporting on crisis and pathology, the positive mental health report provides insight about where we want to go, not just away from.
In that study, positive mental health was conceptualized, of these six building blocks, emotion regulation, sense of meaning and purpose, positive social relationships, sense of mastery or competence, resilience to stress, and life satisfaction and happiness. Individuals high in these aspects experience more happiness and curiosity, and less anxiety and depression. The authors point out that these aspects are not static or fixed: in fact, they can be developed through increasing enacting the right combination of individual behavior and social support.
The positive mental health piece argues that emphasizing these building blocks may change the course of prevention and intervention efforts. Rather than intervening at the point of crisis, schools, employers and community agencies can be proactive by bolstering social emotional skills, healthy relationships, and a sense of meaning through opportunities for contribution such as SEL, peer support groups, mentoring and opportunities for service or creativity.
For a person, the overview of their positive mental health might prompt you to consider what parts of them seem well developed and which parts seem abandoned. Maybe they acknowledge having a network of friends but no purpose; feeling great in their work though drained in their being. Instead of jumping to train-wreck conclusions, this overview provides an opportunity to implement gentle tweaks: start counseling, take up an interest, find a tribe, introduce new rituals, learn to say no.
The authors argue that clinicians and policy makers can also build on the positive mental health study framework to better capture success. Nip those symptoms in the bud; and help clients feel truly alive and reconnected. As mental health services adapt post-pandemic, adding flourishing indicators on top of crisis measures could make mental health services more humane and optimistic. The conclusion: positive mental health is not a luxury; it is a realizable, achievable goal.
Source: 6 Building Blocks Of Positive Mental Health Revealed In New Study
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