What Is Mental Health?

Mental health is the capacity of individuals and groups to interact with one another and the environment, in ways that promote subjective well-being and optimal development with the use of cognitive, affective and relational abilities.
Furthermore, mental health plays a crucial role in the well being of the Australian community, with one in five Australian's directly suffer from a mental illness at some point in their lives.
Mental illness will have a direct effect on the quality of the individuals life with varying effects on family members, friends and the community.

• Psycho
• Mental
• Mad
• Crazy
• Bananas
• Nuts
• Crackers
• Delusional
• Depressed
• Bipolar
• Lunatic
• Insane
• Paranoid
• Psychotic

are just a few terms that are used in a negative way by the greater community to describe mental illness; however mental illness can be understood as: "any illness experienced by a person that affects their emotions, thoughts or behaviour; is out of keeping with their cultural beliefs and personality; and produces a negative effect on their lives or the lives of their families".(World Health Organisation)
Mental illness is generally misunderstood, and has a negative social stigma attached to it. Having to live with a social odium can be more debilitating than the illness itself and forces the individual further into the margins of society, resulting in increased hardships and isolation. Furthermore, whilst the treatment and medicine for mental illness has improved, the stigma attached to it continues to grow.
Whist this website offers many fantastic self-help resources, there may a point in time where you need to seek professional help. Here are a few professional titles that you may be aware of:

• Psychiatrist, is a medically trained practitioner who specialises in mental health.
• Psychologist, is a mental health professional that takes a scientific approach to psychological knowledge, theory and practice.
• Psychoanalyst, specialises in the deeper personality structures and the role the unconscious mind plays with in the mental health field.
• Social worker, focus their skills and knowledge on the interaction between the individual and their environment.
• Registered nurse, helps the individual with home care, hospital stay, and consultancy.

Multidisciplinary teams of health professional with specialised fields, are assembled to work together to detect, asses, diagnose and treat mental illness. Once an initial assessment has been made, the information can then be formulated into a diagnosis, which will then be constructed into a treatment plan that will ultimately aid and assist the individual in creating a better quality of life.
Diagnostic classification enhances clear communication, which supports the understanding of treatment options, predictable prognosis and stimulates analytical research. Furthermore diagnosis aids in the treatment planning and medical management. In addition to this, diagnosis aids in patient education and is fundamental in medical record keeping. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and related Health Problems (ICD-10) are two of the leading diagnostic systems currently used to classify and diagnose mental health illnesses. Mental health professionals are essential in the assessment of a mental disorder or illness.
Factors that must be consider during the initial interview are;

• Psychological
• Biological
• Social.

A good clinician is like a detective, gathering information, and asking questions like, who, what, when,how and why. The clinician will allow the client to tell their story without cultural or sexual prejudices, bias of opinion or judgement; and one who will keep counter transference to a minimal.
So if you think that you may need help, visit http://www.followyourdreamlife.com/what-is-mental-health for an international list of agencies that specialise in mental health.

Thank you for reading:
For a list of mental health resources visit the following link: http://www.followyourdreamlife.com/what-is-mental-health

5 Ways to Promote Positive Mental Health

Positive mental health is a great way to ensure you lead a long, happy and healthy life. Maintaining your mental health is easier than most people think and will have a significant impact on your everyday life.
Would you like to have more energy? What about a good night sleep? How you would like to go an entire year without catching the flu once? Achieving a positive mental health state will not guarantee these things, but it sure will help.
Here are the top 5 things you can do to help promote positive mental health in you and your children:
1. Eat Healthy. Eating fast food 3 times a week and downing a few cold ones before bed might be easier than making a home-cooked meal and more enjoyable than drinking a cold glass of water but it won't do a whole lot for your health. Eating home-cooked foods (especially fruits and vegetables) and staying away from the fast food joints will help you achieve the healthy lifestyle you desire.
2. Drink Lots of Water. To maintain a healthy lifestyle, average individuals are expected to consume at least eight glasses of water a day. And while this seems like it may be a lot, it's actually not. Eight glasses is almost equivalent to filling up your water bottle a few times between waking up and going to bed. Remember, if you work out, you will need to increase your water intake to compensate for the water you're burning off while exercising. Drinking water will detoxify your body and restore it back to a healthy state - especially after drinking coffee or alcoholic beverages.
3. Kick the Bad Habits. We've already mentioned it a few times but eliminating significant alcohol intake will have positive results on your mental health. Likewise, kicking other bad habits like smoking and drinking considerable amounts of coffee will also help keep your mental health at its best.
4. De-Stress. Stress is one of the leading causes for poor mental health. When you're stressed out, your body has to work harder to keep up and, overtime, it will take its toll on your body and your brain. Next time something stressful happens, try lighting some candles and taking a bath. If that doesn't work for you, try letting off some steam by going to the gym or going for a run. Keeping a positive frame of mind will promote positive mental health and eliminate undue stress on your brain.
5. Book Regular Check-ups. Unfortunately, you can do all of the things listed above and still suffer from mental health problems. In fact, you might have a mental illness and not even know it. Make sure you're mental health is in good condition by booking regular appointments with your doctor. He/she will be able to confirm whether you're lifestyle is healthy or identify where you may need to make some changes.

Adella Klein is dedicated to Healthy Living and wants to be the same. When she's not speaking to adults and children in her community about the importance of positive Mental Health, she's sharing her knowledge with the world by contributing to One Healthy Lifestyle.

10 Tips To Staying Mentally Healthy

If it's not broke don't fix it...right? No! One of the best methods of mental health recovery is to maintain an environment prone to mental health and mental illness recovery. Staying mentally healthy is a way of life, not something you do when things start to go wrong. Keep reading for your top 10 tips to staying mentally healthy! Remember sometimes, the best treatment is prevention.
For access to some great cutting-edge research aside from the tips below, check out the Mental Health Center of Denver's Research and Evaluation Team's publications.
1) Stay Physically Active: the human mind developed in an environment requiring one travels the equivalent of 12 miles per day for sheer survival (and no that doesn't mean jumping in the car and flooring it!). Recent research has proven that increased physical activity can actually create new brain cells (once thought of as a static number), this explains why nearly every mental healthcare consumer at facilities such as MHCD are strongly encouraged to begin an exercise regiment immediately.
2) Stay Socially Active: we are social creatures, thus one's support network, be it family or friends, is of immense importance to one's general well being. It is of course ok to take a few nights to yourself, but don't stay shut in. Go out, keep your social relations strong.
3) Get a Hobby: find something creative outlet that you want to do just for yourself. Depending on what you chose, a hobby can be a great avenue into sports clubs, night classes at a local college, or staying physically active; plus if its something you enjoy it will be much easier to stick with!
4) Be Self-Reflective: you know those few nights a week I said it was ok to just take a night to yourself? Do it! Read a good book, walk your dog, just think things over. Examine where you are in life, where you want to be, and where you've come from. Be honest and complimentary to yourself. You are a brave, amazing person, so act like it :)
5) Play: play is actually tremendously important for staying mentally healthy. Devoting time to just having fun can recharge your battery, revitalize your social networks, and reduce stress/anxiety.
6) Maintain a healthy diet: this goes along with staying active. Stay healthy, both in terms of exercise and in terms of eating. Now don't go crazy here, you don't want to make yourself miserable by being the food-police, just be conscious of what is going into your body. And allow yourself some leg-room to cheat once a week or so!
7) Set goals: when people are feeling depressed, aimless, or like they are just going through the motions, often times its because they are lacking general direction. Set realistic goals for yourself so you are continuously aiming at something, this is a practice known as positive dissonance (you are constantly reaching for a new goal you set, thus you are always striving further and further even if you accomplish a goal along the way). Importantly though, one must not take this too far and find no joy in overcoming a given sub-goal; this will prove to demoralize the individual. You should celebrate your successes! Each and every one of them, and then push yourself to be even better. Once you reach your goal, set another one to get even further! This will constantly drive you, give you reasons to celebrate as you attain goals, and will increase your general level of content and mental health.
8) Balance free time: this is very important! Don't let yourself just lay in front of the TV. That is actually conducive to depressive environments. Relax, watch some TV, read a book, go for a walk, spend time on your hobby. Do it all, not just one of them.
9) Examine your locus of control: in the midst of your self reflections, it is important to examine just where your locus of control is. Are you blaming everyone else for things? Or are you taking on all the fault? Nothing is one sided, remember that. Especially if your depression is focused around relationship woes. Think of what you really did, what others really did, accept that its in the past and that the best thing to do now is learn from it and live on to never make that mistake again!
10) Don't be afraid to seek help: It is a great shame that seeking out mental health professionals in America has become a taboo or secretive endeavor! If you are worried about your mental health, you should be proud of yourself for putting forth an effort to improve yourself. If you are in the general area, I would recommend a recovery-based treatment center such as the Mental Health Center of Denver, or MHCD. The only shame in finding help is not getting help when you can benefit from it!

For some great links to free, cutting-edge psychological research publications, access MHCD Research and Evaluation team's mental illness research page. Or, to find out what a recovery-centered community mental health center is like, access the MHCD Home Page link above.
Stay healthy, stay happy!
Lex Douvasa
Check out the Research!