What is Mental Health?

• Self acceptance
• Freedom from unreasonable fear and compulsion
• Genuine job satisfaction
• Living in harmony with one’s immediate surroundings
(family, neighbors)
• Being kind and helpful to others
• Being reliable and dependable
• Being honest with God, oneself and others
 What is Mental Health....

• Being faithful to one’s conscience and religious duties

• Capacity to play and have fun
• Being health conscious and taking care of one’s own health
• Meeting one’s needs reasonably
• Contributing to others’ welfare
• Assuming social responsibilities
• Capable of giving and receiving love
• Being able to take decisions and face consequences

Mental Health needs to be looked after carefully, else it can deteriorate

 Points to Ponder on
• Rapidly changing environment (world in general)
Dynamic concept of mental health

• Closed to change
Unable to adjust. Requirement is to modify some of our ways, our habits
and our perceptions of people and events

• Embrace change
New practices are more meaningful and rewarding

• Do we change all our practices and beliefs?

No. Identify and retain the good ones – going to bed early, healthy meal
timings, praying whenever possible etc.

• What do we change then?

Practices like being engrossed in one’s work, having no time for family
members, guests etc.
 Ways of Maintaining Mental Health

Increasing
Reducing Stress Adjustive
Resources

• What are adjustive

What is stress? resources?

Situation 1  Good
• Means human beings use to cope with
stress are called Adjustive resources
Situation 2  Not-so-good

• Situation 2 asks for great efforts (stress) to cope with the extra demands

• Could be internal or external demands

• Mobilization of body’s defenses against perceived threat (all kinds) that

allows human beings to adapt
 Relationship between Stress and Adjustive Resources
• More the Adjustive resources we have  better equipped to handle stress

• Increasing stress with diminishing Adjustive resources  trouble

• Bank Account going down with bills piling up  similar situation

• Budgeting is the need of the hour

• Similarly, we need to do psychological budgeting

 Types of Stress

SOURCES

Biological Psychological Spiritual Sociological

 Types of Stress: Biological

Sources of
Stress

Biological Psychological Spiritual Sociological

• Faulty heredity, faulty temperament, low levels of energy, sickness, poor

diet, lack of sleep, fatigue etc.

• Hormonal imbalance for women during menstruation and menopause

• Presence of cortisol in body  prevents body from reacting normally to

infections

• High blood pressure, level of sugar in blood

 Types of Stress: Psychological

Sources of
Stress

Biological Psychological Spiritual Sociological

Frustration Conflict Pressure

 Psychological Stress

FRUSTRATION

• Failure to meet own needs from personal limitations and mistakes

• Loss of near and dear ones
• Loss of prestige
• Lack of social charm
• Feelings of guilt
• Lack of purpose in life

CONFLICT

• Arising from 2 incompatible needs; at loggerheads with each other

• E.g. Love v/s hate, sexual feelings v/s restraints, honesty v/s personal
gain, dependence v/s self direction, obedience v/s independence etc.

PRESSURE

• Intensification of efforts due to excess demand on the individual

• Stems from ambition, sense of duty, competitive situations etc.
 Types of Stress: Spiritual

Sources of
Stress

Biological Psychological Spiritual Sociological

• Confusion about God

• Confusion about the purpose of our life – existential crisis

• Impatience and losing one’s temper

• Inability to forgive

• Yielding to our evil inclinations and going against our conscience

 Types of Stress: Sociological

Sources of
Stress

Biological Psychological Spiritual Sociological

• Affects a group of people together

• Some common sources are unemployment, poor housing, marriage

breakdown etc.
 Adjustive Resources: Biological
• Involves the entire person at all levels – holistic in nature

Adjustive
Resources
Levels

Biological Psychological Spiritual Sociological

• Good health and a high level of energy

• Appropriate rest, sleep, diet, exercise, relaxation, intake of water, proper

supervised medication etc.

• Letting emotions out by crying

• Physical energy is necessary for healthy living  proper care of one’s

health
 Psychological Adjustive Resources:
• Ability to reduce stress and increase personal competence  handle stressful situations
much more effectively. Means available are:
 Realistic self-concept, self-image, self-perception, self-identity
 Awareness about own strengths and weaknesses
 Accepting oneself as it is
 Wait patiently for God’s plan for you to unfold through prayers, inspirations etc.
 Self acceptance and reducing envy for perceived ‘more gifted’ individuals

• Resolving conflicts by adopting the approach: define problem  work out alternative
solutions  deliberate upon the most rewarding one  work towards achieving it

• Increase self-knowledge and self-understanding

• Improve interpersonal dealings by being:

 Sincere in dealings with others
 Being appreciative and respectful of others

• Change faulty assumptions about people and get rid of absolutes

• Induce positive self talk
• Correct mental beliefs (event doesn’t cause problem, beliefs do.) E.g. Priya, Nandita

• Developing a sense of humor and the ability to laugh at oneself

 Adjustive Resources: Spiritual

Adjustive
Resources
Levels

Biological Psychological Spiritual Sociological

• Faith, hope and love

• Follow our conscience

• Cope with trials and difficulties

• Ability to forgive and work for others

 Adjustive Resources: Sociological

Adjustive
Resources
Levels

Biological Psychological Spiritual Sociological

• Competence to face difficult times in groups of people

• Ability to help others endure unpleasant things

• Ability to remain patient in the face of unpleasant things

 Factors Determining
Personal Adjustment

Very Poor

Adjustive
Resources
3
2
Very Good 1

Mild Stress Severe

1 – Well Adjusted
2 – Less Adjusted
3 – Mal Adjusted

Decrease Stress via Increasing Adjustive Resources

THANK YOU