What does it mean for a person to be healthy?
When asked this question, many people will respond with descriptions of regular exercise, being free of sickness, and eating the right foods. While each of these things does play a part in being healthy, there is one glaring omission – mental health. No matter how much time you spend at the gym or how closely you follow a strict regimen of a nutritious diet, it won’t matter in the least if you’re mental health is not in a good state.
In today’s modern era of easy access to information and services, it’s relatively easy to work on your mental health. You can search out articles online (like this one), pick up a self-help book, or schedule time with a professional counselor. Still, in dealing with mental health problems, you may keep the same unhappy attitude that invades every corner of your life. To make any significant improvement to your mental health, you’ll need to recognize exactly what it is that makes you unhappy.
Happiness in itself is the realization that your reality in life matches your own personal set of values and beliefs. This means that what you do, even on a daily basis, is in line with what you believe to be true. An example would be a regular exercise schedule. If you believe this activity to be important and manage to keep up with your standard routine, then your actions will be validating your belief, thus making you happy. It’s when you’re actions do not match your principles that issues of unhappiness start to arise.
Take a typical working situation as an example. A person who believes they are being underpaid has an idea of the value of their time. That the reality is not meeting that value creates a disconnect and it is in this disconnect that the seeds of unhappiness are sown and the overall mental health is damaged. Until the balance between the principles and reality is restored, the same feeling of unhappiness will remain.
Obviously, you don’t have control over every factor of life and there will be many times when your reality does not match the values present in your belief system. To be happy, you will need to think about your role in each of these situations and decide if your thoughts and actions are following your values. The external factors may be impossible to control, but you do have the ability to decide what you do in the face of these disconnects. Through careful analysis of your own life, you will be able to identify those spots where the disconnect is large and an adjustment is needed to either your reality or value system – this is proper mental health.
When your mental state is strong, you will find all sorts of benefits coming your way, such as more energy, a more positive outlook, and a willingness to meet challenges. From this foundation, you’ll be able to work on your physical health and become a truly healthy person.
The Role Of Health In Happiness
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