MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII -- Mental well-being is a major staple in somone’s all around well-being.
Mental well-being is the presence of positive emotions, satisfaction with life and fulfillment, according to http://www.cdc.gov. Being healthy doesn’t just apply to one’s physical health; mental health is a very important component.
Many factors determine someone’s mental wellness. A person’s physical, economic and social well-being as well as life satisfaction are a few factors that have an effect on one’s mental health.
If one or more of those factors becomes negative or troubling for someone, it can affect their overall mental health.
Maintaining good mental health helps a person realize their ambitions and cope with their environments negative and positive affects, according to http://www.cdc.gov.
Happiness can be a sign of good mental health, but only if it’s long-term happiness explained Florence Yamashita, prevention and education specialist for counseling services here. People can have short-term happiness when they watch a football game, eat a bowl of ice cream or get a raise. Examples of long-term happiness are speaking up for something a person believes in, appreciating good things that happen and doing something for someone else.
There are many ways to achieve mental wellness. Regular exercise, healthy eating, getting plenty of rest and sleep, developing coping skills and keeping a positive mind can help improve mental health.
People with excellent mental health have positive relationships, healthy behaviors and have reachable goals explained Yamashita.
Mental well-being is most accurately measured through a person’s self-reports of how they feel emotionally. Mental well-being is a more subjective matter.
However, doctors use objective measurements sometimes to determine a person’s well-being. A person’s household income, unemployment levels and neighborhood crime are a few factors that could determine how healthy a person’s well-being is based on their environment.
Genetics can also increase a person’s chance of becoming depressed or having anxiety or substance abuse problems, explained Yamashita.
Warning signs that someone may have mental health problems include, but are not limited to, eating or sleeping too much or too little, pulling away from people, feeling like nothing matters and feeling helpless or hopeless. If someone feels this way they should seek professional help.