Mental Health Promotion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Mental Health Promotion - Essay Example CONCEPT OF MENTAL HEALTH There has been various concepts and approaches to mental health. According to the Department of Health, some of the factors that greatly influenced mental health are family traditions, beliefs, and cultural practices. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines health, as a state of being physically, mentally and socially fit. Being healthy does not just mean the absence of sickness or physical incapacity. Mental health is therefore a fundamental indicator of the overall health and well being of a person. However, many other sources simply view mental health merely as the absence of disease or illness. This view is supported in the biomedical model of health as mentioned by Seedhouse (2002). On the other hand, Seeker (2005) indicated in his study that to get the best result from caregiver’s intervention approach, there is a need to focus on the diagnosis and interpretations of a disease in pathological terms. There is a big disparity between one who is diagnosed with mental illness in contrast to another condition where there is no medical diagnosis, in terms of access to medical care and health services. Persons diagnosed of mental illness that gets access to healthcare and social services developed some sense of emotional security from the support and should cope better with the challenge. In contrast, a person who is not diagnosed of being mentally ill may not get the needed support and attention from caregivers resulting to negative feelings of being neglected. A more comprehensive definition of mental health was coined by the Health Education Authority (HEA) in 1997. The agency’s definition of mental health put emphasis on the spiritual and emotional ability of the person to endure and recover from painful experiences or sufferings in life. This resilience will enable a mentally healthy person to move on and enjoy life after a suffering some form of pain (Squire 2002, Wagnild & Collins 2009). In 2004, the World Health Organization pronounced an insightful definition of mental health giving emphasis to normal aspects of living. It is a state of well-being in which the individual is conscious of his social ties and can cope up with the day to day stresses of life. A mentally healthy person should therefore be able to work productively and to offer something positive to their community. Such productivity and positive contribution promotes inner satisfaction and greatly reinforces overall health. Nations all over the globe are looking into mental health promotion with renewed interest. Mental health is essentially the condition that dictates the total well-being and productivity of a person. Intervention through health promotion is far more effective in safeguarding mental health than treatments and medicinal therapies at the on stage of a fully diagnosed mental illness. This latter approach is rather expensive and yet less effective as presented in the following research and studies. CONCEPT OF MEN TAL HEALTH PROMOTION Activities that promote the mental health of individuals has a positive effect in preventing and reducing mental illness (Barry & Jenkins 2007) and in the fast recovery of mentally afflicted individuals (Friedli 2009). In 2001, the Department of Health introduced mental health promotion as any action or activity that enhances or supports the mental well-being of a person, family,