Understanding Mental Health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Understanding Mental Health - Essay Example The term mental health refers to a state of complete cognitive, psychological, emotional and social well-being of a person. Or in other words, it may also be termed as the absence of any mental disorder or disease. This paper aims at analyzing the case study of Peter, a man who is chronically suffering from addiction to alcohol and drugs. The World Health Organization however advocates that mental health is â€Å"not merely the absence of disease or infirmity† (WHO, 2001, p.1). It offers a much more comprehensive definition of the term by stating that mental health is â€Å"a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community". WHO stresses that mental health "is not just the absence of mental disorder† (WHO, 2001, p.1) The Med lexicon’s Medical Dictionary (2010) defines mental health as â€Å"emotional, behavioral, and social maturity or normality; the absence of a mental or behavioral disorder; a state of psychological well-being in which one has achieved a satisfactory integration of ones instinctual drives acceptable to both oneself and ones social milieu; an appropriate balance of love, work, and leisure pursuits† (Neer aja & Anuradha, 2014, p. 87) . Hence, the three basic ideas that can be inferred from the two definitions about mental health are: firstly, that mental health is an essential part of human health; secondly, that mental health is a wide concept and cannot be defined as merely the absence of disease; and thirdly, that mental health is intricately connected to physical health and behavior. (Herrman, Saxena & Moodie, 2005) Though Peter was not suffering from any obvious physical disease or disorder, his addiction to alcohol and drugs had severely affected his