4) Mental Well-being – Healthy Mind

1. Mental health

A state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community (WHO, 2014)

2. Characteristics of an emotionally healthy person

With the ability (1) to recognize and express emotions properly and (2) to cope with stress, worries and depression in daily life

3. Factors affect mental health

Biological Perspective	Mind and body are connected as a holistic system Emotions and memory are managed by brain
Psychological Perspective	Experience in personal development Self-concept
Social Perspective	Family, community, society and culture etc. Social / economic changes / welfare system etc.

4. Stress

What is stress?	Stress is the physiological, emotional and behavioural reactions to a particular stressor, when the existing resources are not sufficient to cope with the external demand.
Types	Eustress – a positive form of stress, usually related to desirable events in a person’s life Distress – a negative form of stress, usually related to keeping people from doing the things they need to do or cause discomfort
Stressors	Disastrous Events Life events Physical environment
Stress reaction	Physiological reaction – e.g. heavy breathing Emotional reaction – e.g. the feeling of tension Behavioural reaction – e.g. nail biting
Coping Strategies	Coping with problem Directly dealing with stressors Coping with emotion Strategies to relieve emotions

5. Types of mental problems/disorders:

Depression	Presence of persistent depressed mood, lack of interest or motivation and negative thinking
Phobia	Excessive or irrational fear to a particular object or situation
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder	Intrusive memory of the traumatic event, avoidance of situations that are reminders of the trauma, and hyper-arousal symptoms such as being easily startled and difficulty in sleeping
Schizophrenia	Disturbance of thinking and perception

6. Possible impact of poor mental health and stress:

Social isolation / exclusion	Labelling	prone to violence unpredictable behavior inability to make rational decisions
	Negative Impacts	Discrimination: unfair treatment to patients Social isolation: patients isolate themselves Higher risk of relapse: patients may conceal their case history and hinder early diagnosis of the problem / treatment
Suicide	Risk of suicide attempts is higher among those with depression
Productivity / efficiency loss	unable to cope with stress in normal life and work effectively
Burden on family members	taking care of a mental patient is a major stressor caregivers may need to quit their jobs conflicts between the patients and family members

7. Rehabilitation

Deinstitutionalization	Long-term hospitalization : dependency and social withdrawal / adaptation problems of reintegration after long term segregation Release of hospitalized patients into the community : closer contact with families and the community
Rehabilitation service	Hospital Authority :in-patient and out-patient, e.g. community psychiatric services NGOs : e.g. sheltered workshops, halfway houses
Family care and support	Help patients to follow the treatment and medication; Take care of the patients in daily lives Emotional support
Integration into the community	Self-help groups Training on social skills and living skills Vocational training

Reading

Worksheets

Handouts

Assessment Tasks