Lesson 1 Characteristics of Good Mental Health
Objectives:
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Define what is mental health and give its importance.
Relate the connection between good mental health and functional growth.
Deepen understanding of mental health for better comprehension of oneself.
The complexities of modern living develop emotional stress of many kinds.
Freedom means an opportunity, and opportunity means competition. We are in a
changing world where scientific knowledge doubles every 10 years and where
customs undergo rapid changes. National, social and economic securities are often
uncertain. There is too much excitement and too little rest for many people. Mental
disease is a major health problem. We must give special consideration to the school
program for mental health.
Definition and importance of Mental Health
So many things have been said about mental health. It is the key to wholesome
adjustments; it denotes a sound state of mind; and it means facing and accepting the facts
squarely. The United States National Committee for Mental Hygiene defines mental
health as “ The adjustment of individuals to themselves and the world at large with
maximum effectiveness, satisfaction, cheerfulness and socially considerate behavior and
the ability to face and accept the realities of life.”
The element of healthful school living, which most directly in the hands of the
teacher, is the maintenance and promotion of mental health through his day-by-day
interpersonal relations with students.
Mental health is determined is determined by the way a person feels about
himself, towards others and how he is able to face and adjust to day-today living
conditions. The teacher has the opportunity, secondary to parents, to help his students
accept themselves, learn to get along happily and successfully with others and make
wholesome adjustments to living. He is concerned with helping them attain mental health
so that they may be developed into mature, responsible and well-adjusted adults.
People who are mentally healthy usually can “roll with the punches”. They can
resolve most of their problems at a reasonable amount of time. They do not let their
emotional ups and downs get in the way of enjoying their everyday life. Mentally healthy
people can enjoy the good times make it through the difficult times, and keep the extreme
in perspective.
The teacher has both a positive and a preventive role in mental health. He pays
careful attention to the promotion of positive mental health by providing the kind of
school environment in which students may grow and develop normally. He makes it
possible that the kind of learning experience by which wholesome attitudes and behavior
patterns are attained and signs of disorders of students with serious emotional
disturbances are referred for psychiatric treatment.
Characteristics of Good Mental Health
The development and maintenance of an individual’s own mental health is
important. An excellent statement of mental health is positive terms mention the
following characteristics. Mentally healthy people possess certain characteristics. People
develop these characteristics to different degrees. Even the healthiest person does not
have all of these characteristics all the time. Your level of mental health varies just as
your level of physical health varies. As a result, your mental health is better at some times
than at other times.
1.
Having a positive self-concept
Mentally healthy people have positive self-concept. For, example, Ramon
is a person with a positive-concept. He is an officer of a student organization. He
takes pride and full responsibility of the many projects he has directed.
Nevertheless, he accepts the facts that some of his project may turn out well as
planned. Ramon tries to improve his effort rather than put himself down by
failures or difficulties. Ramon has a goal of becoming president of the
organization, so he works hard to achieve his goal.
Having positive self-concept makes way of an object judgment. He has the
ability to look at all kinds of facts squarely and accurately, neither overlooking
some nor exaggerating others. This ability is also called rationality, good sense
and even common sense.
2. Taking Responsibilities for yourself
Mentally healthy people take responsibility for themselves. They do not
blame others for what happens to them, nor do they see themselves as victims in
their world. Instead, they make decisions on how to handle their own problems or
ask others for help when needed.
An individual should have the self-realizing drive. This is the habit of
working hard to one’s full capacity. People vary greatly in their physical,
intellectual and social potentials, but it is possible to see how far an individual
puts to work his own particular potential to achieve pleasing results.
3. Having Satisfying Relationships
Mentally healthy people accept others as they are and respect individual
differences. They can give and accept love and support. They are sensitive to the
needs of others and are concerned about another person’s thoughts and feelings.
Mentally healthy people communicate clearly and honestly in order to build
honest relationships.
4. Adapting to Changes
People often feel uncomfortable when they experience changes in their
lives. This feeling is natural because any kind of change can be stressful.
However, mentally healthy people tend to adapt change in their lives. They
understand that learning to adapt can be a difficult process. Sometimes, they may
lack confidence in their ability to adapt to changes, and they may have periods of
self-doubt. However, mentally healthy people accept that change is a natural way
of daily living. They adapt to new situations by changing what can be changed
and accepting what cannot be changed.
It is often difficult to tell how well adjusted a person is, but there are some
significant signs. Some specific indications are as follows:
a.
A well adjusted person knows how to deal with others, which
makes him a good companion and co-worker;
b.
He is able to accept himself and the conditions of his life fairly
persistent satisfaction;
c.
Confronts his problems that come each day with evasive or
compensatory reactions;
d.
He aborts or masters the inevitable conflicts, frustrations,
disappointments and temporary defeats without undue emotional turmoil;
e.
He contributes a spirit of cooperation and good will to the
necessary activities of his group; and
f.
He has wide interests, attacks his work with zest and gets
satisfaction out of doing it.
Encoded by:
Group 1 (MAPEH)
IV – 1 Sampaguita
SY: 2008-2009
Mr. E. Matienzo
From: MAPEH-CAT
(Vilma V. Perez; Lillian N.
Luma; Crisanto E. Tomas;
Danilo A, Clemente Ed. D)
Lesson 2 Factors Affecting Mental Health
Objectives:
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Enumerate and explain the factors affecting mental health
Become aware of how one develops good mental health habits and
attitudes
Create a positive social environment
Mental health aims primarily to the attainment and preservation of one’s personality
and behavior. Its scope goes beyond our homes, and includes the school, church,
hospital and other institutions that help develop stable emotional reactions and desirable
behavioral patterns in individuals of all ages.
There are three factors affecting mental health. These are (a) Hereditary Factor; (b)
Physical Factor and (c) Socio-cultural Factor.
Hereditary Factor
There are some considerable facts, which tend to show the close connection
between hereditary influences and some types of mental disorders. Examples of these are
some forms of epilepsy and other disturbances in the brain. Once this genetically casual
relationship has been established, mental hygienists can discourage marriages between
epileptics and thus, reduce the number of mentally defective and other potentially mental
deviates in the succeeding generations.
Basically, hereditary, and environment shape one’s personality and behavior, these
also make people different.
Heredity encompasses the physical qualities and talents with which we are born. It
is the sum total of the qualities, characteristics and traits which have been transmitted
from generation to generation.
Environment deals with the community we are living in and with the people we’re
dealing with.
Physical Factor
The close relationship between physical health and mental health is sometimes
overlooked. The tired, chronically fatigued, malnourished student or a student who is
suffering from pernicious anemia, is a poor student for education. He tends to be irritable
and unreasonable or lethargic and withdrawn. His attention span is short and his
infrequent reading may be due to physical disabilities of vision, hearing and even
neurological disorders. The first step in addressing the problem of a student with a
learning difficulty or an emotional disturbance is a complete physical examination
followed by appropriate healthy guidance.
Socio-cultural Factor
Children come to school with attitudes and behavior patterns which have been
molded by their previous values orientation. Involved in molding each child’s personality
is the kind of home and community in which he has lived, the family circle, the cultural
background, religious beliefs, economic and social status, his physical conditions and his
peer groups.
a. Home and Family
It is in the home in which a child is first and significantly influenced. The unique
power of the home stems from the fact that it gets the new human being first before any
other institution has had a chance to make an impression upon him.
Satisfactory family life is indispensable to the adequate development of the child
aside from physical care. The emotional atmosphere that the child undergoes at home
determines whether he will have feelings of personal security, safety and acceptance or of
anxiety, hatred and defiance of authority when he grows up.
Because of the relation between personality and environment, family cohesion
and disruption are of fundamental importance and mental health. It is common
knowledge that break-up of parents has tremendous damage on the psychological well
being of children. The saying: “ a broken home results in a broken child” has been found
to be true in a majority of instances.
b. School
Education is said to begin at birth and continues until the end of life. It embraces
all aspects of learning and in a democratic society, demands from the individual the he
remains flexible and responsible to changing folkways and moves. Teachers and students
together should adapt themselves to constant change and rid themselves of rigidity.
Effective techniques of thinking and learning as well as adequate practical
knowledge of the world about him are major aspects of mental health problems as well as
becoming well informed and healthy physically. The school curriculum must be made in
such a way that it can help promote personality adjustment. However, all these are
possible only if the curricular materials are presented by teachers who posses qualities
adequate for such understanding.
c. Community
An individual achieves his personality stature in-group activities. The
development of his workable mental health principle is applied in his interpersonal
relationships in the community. The more intellectual and emotionally mature the
individual, the greater is his capacity for functioning as a responsible member of society.
The individual enjoys a complete life in proportion to the opportunities for personality
development offered by the group and his participation in the activities of his community.
In modern society, housing is a factor of major importance among the physical
aspects of environment. Housing conditions are associated with health and personality,
and where they lead to feeling of inadequacy or inferiority, they obviously exert a
detrimental influence on mental health.
Other Factors Affecting Health
1. Physical Health
A diseased mind may come from diseased body. Certain mental disorders are
preventable. Mental disorders due to infection can be avoided by preventing the infection.
The same hold true for mental disorders due to brain injuries, nutritional deficiencies
(pellagra), and toxins (alcoholism, lead poisoning).
Anything that lessens physical strength enfeebles the mind and makes it less
capable of discriminating between right and wrong. Whatever promotes physical health
promotes the development of a strong mind and a well-balanced body may be maintained
by physical work combined with mental work.
2. Intelligence
Higher intelligence means the ability to handle more complex relationships.
3. Family as model
The family provides one with his/her social experience. As parents and other
family members respond positively to people, one will learn to do the same and value
such traits as friendliness, loyalty, kindness and other qualities that make up a wellrounded person.
4.Habit training in childhood
The family and the home assist one’s mental growth. They can show good habits
of study and provide an environment that is intellectually stimulating.
5.Ethical and moral upbringing
These are provided by the family and home as well as the church and school. One
learns about faith and values, relationships with neighbors, friends and other people.
6.Personal efforts to practice mental hygiene
Past experiences determine the way one responds to present situations. Attitudes
constitute values that relate to one self. A person develops attitudes towards work, other
people authority, parents or world conditions which exert an influence upon your
behavior.
Encoded by:
Group 1 (MAPEH)
IV – 1 Sampaguita
SY: 2008-2009
Mr. E. Matienzo
From: MAPEH-CAT
(Vilma V. Perez; Lillian N.
Luma; Crisanto E. Tomas;
Danilo A, Clemente Ed. D)