Mental health is a state of well-being in which a person can fulfill themselves, overcome the normal stresses of life, perform productive work and contribute to the life of their community. It is influenced by living and working conditions, significant events, family predisposition or even society.
Mental health: a state of well-being
Good mental health is a state of psychological and social well-being that allows everyone to realize their potential, to face the normal difficulties of life, to work. It also corresponds to a person’s ability to lead a fulfilling life for themselves, to establish and maintain relationships in their community of life and to make a contribution to it. It is a state of balance between all dimensions of life : emotional, physical, social, spiritual, economic.
Understanding what influences mental health
Influenced by the education that one receives and the experiences lived during childhood, it evolves during life, consolidates or deteriorates according to external factors (friendships, love life, illnesses, academic success, bereavement, etc.), and each individual’s own resources (ability to manage stress, identify emotions, for example).
NB: Being in good mental health does not necessarily imply that one does not have a mental disorder. One can indeed live with psychic disorders and feel an overall mental well-being, have satisfactory social relations, a fulfilling activity, a good self-esteem.
What are mental disorders?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental disorders affect approximately one in four people in the world , regardless of country and culture.
A few key figures in France: psychotic disorders affect 600,000 people (about 1% of the population), more than one person in 10 has a phobia, 8% of 18-75 year olds experience depressive episodes, bulimia attacks affect 28% of teenage girls and 20% of teenage boys (between 10 and 19 years old). In 2015, 1.7 million French people over the age of 16 were followed for mental disorders.
What influences mental health?
Mental health consolidates or deteriorates depending on external factors (friendships, love life, illnesses, professional life, academic success, bereavement, etc.) and individual resources (ability to manage stress, recognize one’s emotions, for example ).
How to preserve your mental health?
It is recommended to practice regular physical activity (walking, running, swimming or cycling) and to reduce stimulants (coffee, alcohol, tobacco) which have an impact on the quality of sleep and the general level of anxiety.
In the context of mental well-being, we will retain the combination of psychotherapeutic or psychocorporal interventions (cognitive-behavioral therapies, relaxation, mindfulness meditation, etc.)
What is Mindfulness Meditation?
Among the practices mentioned, the so-called “mindfulness” meditation aims to allow us to better understand our emotions and to accept them. Concretely, it is a question of paying attention to the experience which takes place in the moment (for example while sitting but also while walking, while eating, while doing the dishes, in the shower, in public transport, etc. .), trying to ignore his propensity to judge the experience as good or bad. Studies have shown that this practice reduces mental ruminations and calms emotional turmoil.
Prevent addictive behavior
Each of these disorders is a factor of poor prognosis for the other, while they often have common socio-environmental risk factors (stress, abandonment, abuse in childhood, social adversity, stigmatization, etc.). Their association contributes to social exclusion and even acts of delinquency.
The environment, the availability and ease of access to the product, the age of onset of consumption are among the factors involved in addictions. There is also a familial predisposition.
How to react to a mental disorder?
The offer of care and support for people living with a mental disorder is varied. There are places and professionals specializing in psychological care, associations and mutual aid groups and also drug treatments.
To identify a situation of ill-being in a loved one, it is essential to devote time to dialogue with the person, with a benevolent approach and attentive listening. It is not a question of making a diagnosis of disease, nor of seeking the reasons for the ill-being. The objective is to open up dialogue and encourage the person to consult a doctor or contact a mutual aid system (help lines, associations of users of psychiatric services, for example).
The health professionals to be consulted in the event of a suspected mental disorder are the attending physician, a psychiatrist or psychologist or even a medico-psychological center (CMP) in their geographical area. There are also specialized structures for children and adolescents: medical-psycho-pedagogical centers (CMPP).
Many help lines are dedicated to mental disorders. In addition, physical places of listening welcome free young people (Maisons des adolescents and Points d’Accueil et d’Écoute Jeunes), and adults in precarious situations such as RSA beneficiaries and the long-term unemployed.
Report a psychiatric emergency
Some situations are emergencies (dejection or extreme anxiety, delirium, violence towards others, attempted suicide). You have to react quickly by contacting an appropriate service (Samu, firefighters, psychiatric emergency service, medico-psychological center, police).
Every year for nearly 30 years, the general public operation “Mental Health Information Week” has helped raise awareness of mental disorders. This week makes it possible to identify the places, the means and the people who can provide support to the person in a situation of ill-being.
