What Does Good Mental Health Look Like?

Over the years, you've probably been exposed to a wealth of information regarding mental health. But much of that information has been focused on more disturbed or hard-to-live-with aspects of mental health. But what does good mental health looks like?

-Healthy Self-Esteem. An aspect of good mental health focuses on how you feel about yourself. If you like yourself and believe you're a person worth your time and effort, you most likely have a positive sense of self-esteem and a better chance at good mental health.

-Restorative Relationships. The ability to have satisfying relationships with people you can depend on, who understand you, and provide unconditional and positive support to you is a major element to good mental health. Engaging in healthy relationships is a good clue that you can get along well with others and have the skills necessary to successfully interact socially.

-Feelings of Serenity and Happiness. People who have good mental health tend to like the life they have and even look forward to each day with joy and a sense of peace. How you feel on a day-to-day basis is a basic determinant to your mental health.

-Overall balance. To have good mental health, it's important to work sometimes and just hang out or have fun other times. For those who've ever worked too much, you know the destruction of mind, body and soul that can occur. If you have plenty of spare time where you take part in enjoyable experiences and in a sense, re-charge your batteries, you've figured out the way to counter-balance your work and have better mental health.

-Eagerness for Learning. You can never learn too much. And if you have that attitude about life, it can add to your positive mental health. Consistently having an open mind to new information enriches your life and makes your life better.

-Resilience. A person who's mentally healthy can bounce back from a troubling situation and go on with life. Having the personal strength it takes to "make it through anything" is resilience. Resilient people can weather a storm and go forward with renewed strength and courage.

-Willingness to Accept Change. If you know someone who dislikes change, you have probably seen what going against the tide of change can do. It can attribute additional, unnecessary stress to your life. Showing you can accept the alterations that life brings will help you build a strong mental health. In a sense, people who can accept change are willing to "roll with the punches."

Sources

Help Guide website

Professional experience

Psych Central website