What does good mental health mean to you?

[countrysights]

So not what you do to maintain your mental health or how you look after yourself but how does good mental health manifest in your life and experience?

Is it always being happy to some extent, optimistic and productive? Is it just feeling very stable with no big highs or lows? Is it feeling like you have control of your emotions and reactions? Is it about having good insight into why you feel a certain way and being able to modulate your feelings and reactions?

I just wondered because we often talk in the media and society what poor mental health is like but we don't often talk about what good mental health actually means, what it entails and looks like.

I don't think it means always being happy, but I think it means that, when you do feel sad or worried, it's because of a clear, tangible reason and you know the feeling will pass.

The lows are gentle and buffered quickly by down time, so I can restock and bring myself back up again swiftly.
When something rocks my life and I feel unsteady, I am able to either find a way through it myself or have help from someone close to me to show me the right way.

People who “Function” well - clean and presentable (home and self), organised (bills paid, tasks complete or booked), sociable, has hobbies and interests, healthy relationships, doesn’t eat or drink too much.

Not necessarily happy, but not overly sad or worried.

I'd say having good mental health means you can deal with life and all the shite that it brings without falling apart completely. You can cope with the lows and rejoice in the highs. I guess it also means your moods are generally stable without episodes of long lasting stress or regular bouts of doom or catastrophising unsettling the balance. It's when you're able to live your life where you thrive rather than just function.

Anxiety is my main issue so for me personally I consider 'good mental health' to be able to go about life without having panic attacks or overthinking situations and what could go wrong. It's having a proactive, can-do attitude and just getting on with things without fear and the physical symptoms of anxiety (in my case shaking, breathlessness and nausea/diarrhoea) ruining things that should be enjoyable.

I think I agree with most of what people have posted.

@fruitbat22 I do think that even people who have good mental health experience fear and anxiety as those are very normal emotions and everyone experiences them. However I do understand what you mean that if someone has good mental health they will be able to put those feelings into context and overcome them. I did used to suffer with panic attacks in my 20's so I remember that awful feeling.

@MaryActsLikeSheDontCare This is an interesting post as it equates what would be seen as what would be deemed as optimal performance in the eyes of mainstream society with good mental health. I suppose that may well be the case for the most part but I wonder if good mental health is something that can stand apart from conforming to certain ideals of behaviour perhaps so perhaps not always looking presentable or being organised or social for example? Inversely someone who is very clean, tidy, controlled about eating and so on might actually have mental health issues.

Having said all that I do pretty much agree with you but I'm just exploring the nuances!

@MaryActsLikeSheDontCare

I think I have good mental health - I'm usually cheerful and positive, I have never suffered from depression or anxiety - but I don't tick everything on your list! I'm organised, sociable and have healthy relationships, but my house is a bit messy and I'm a bit overweight.

It'a a great question and can be answered interpreted in many ways. I think as parents we often overlook our mental health and wellbeing. But I find when I'm feeling mentally healthy, parenting is even more enjoyable (albeit tough at times). I do feel like there is more awareness and support for parental mental health with the likes of the NHS, pushing more focus on it and apps like Pareful, opposed to just categorising parents' needs and challenges as the same as those without children. Having children is a totally different ball game to not having them and alot of challenges stem from the lack of or broken sleep, especially in the early years.

Having had poor mental health, medicated, counselling etc and now doing really well, for me it is resilience.

It is knowing that whatever happens, I can cope. I have learnt methods and tools that help me deal with the ups and downs. It's having boundaries and not letting those be crossed. I protect my wellbeing. I acknowledge when things are hard and work out how to deal with that, but I also take time to appreciate contentment.

It is learning to say no to harmful things and walk away from toxic people. It is knowing that I can't do everything and that's OK. It is accepting that whilst I might not always be where I want, I can live with where I am. It is acknowledging that I have flaws and still liking myself. I don't take any of it for granted. I am however happy most of the time, I feel very fortunate in this.

I feel like I have good mental health. I am generally cheerful and positive and when I have big or worrying things to deal with, I can think them through calmly, not stress too much about them and can keep them in perspective. I’m also pretty easily able to see “solutions” to things which I think helps as it keeps me feeling generally positive that bad times can pass.

Having said that, I have never had to deal with serious ill health of me or anyone in my family, no early bereavements, no periods of unemployment, so I have never been really “tested” with anything truly awful. My dad currently has cancer which will take him in the next few years which is the worst thing I have had to deal with, but even there I am able to be sad whilst appreciating how lucky I am to have had him for so long (I’m nearly 50), and I’m not depressed about it, I have a “normal” level of feeling sad whilst realising that no one lasts forever.

I haven’t done anything though, this is always how I have been. I feel fortunate both in my natural good mental health and also in the absence of any true tests to it.