Enhancing mental health is a way of investing in your wellbeing. This is because mental health impacts every area of life – from emotional regulation to cognitive capacity and physical health. Great mental health isn’t about managing or not having a mental illness; rather it focuses on enabling you to flourish.
What Impacts Mental Health?
Factors that create risk or protect mental health can occur at any point in life. Consequently, there are numerous individual, social and structural determinants which can enhance or undermine mental health. For example, poverty, interpersonal violence, social cohesion, stress, parenting, and genetics are all factors that influence mental health.
Two particularly influential factors on an individual’s mental health are their work environment and the community in which they live.
Mental Health in the Workplace
For many of us, a large portion of our day is spent at work. This means that a work environment can either promote or jeopardise an individual’s mental health. Corporate wellness programmes are beneficial to improving mental health outcomes. Aside from boosting an individual’s quality of life, they also benefit the employer by enabling better work performance. Relationships with managers and colleagues can also have a significant impact on a person’s mental health.
Community Mental Health
A community can play a significant role in the mental wellbeing of an individual. Social activities that increase connectivity between members have been shown to improve mental health. How inclusive a community is and how much an individual feels connected and valued socially can influence their mental wellbeing. In contrast, a prevalence of social disadvantages, like poverty or debt and discrimination, increases the risk of mental health challenges.
Environmental Impact on Mental Health
Our physical environment can have either a positive or negative impact on our mental health. For example, spending time in nature, exposure to sunshine and having a clean, organised living space can decrease stress levels and improve mood. In contrast, persistent noise, lack of access to resources like drinkable water and cramped living spaces can increase anxiety, stress and depression.
Research shows that environmental factors can have an extensive impact mental wellness. This is because it can change the cognitive function of someone’s brain. In children, adverse environments have been shown to cause learning difficulties, behavioural problems and increase the risk of memory challenges.
Body-Mind Connection
In psychology the mind and body connection is referred to as embodiment. The premises of embodiment is that our mind influences our physical wellbeing and our bodies can determine our mental health.
Our bodies and how we physically experience the world shapes our perceptions, feelings and reactions. It means that how well our bodies connect with our minds can determine why we choose to do what we do and thus our everyday decisions. Thereby directly enhancing or harming mental wellbeing. Conversely, a negative mental space such as heightened anxiety, stress levels or mental illnesses can result in physically manifested symptoms. For example, nausea, headaches and digestive issues. This can then create a downward spiral, whereby our capacity to cope is negatively impacted and mental health issues are exacerbated.
Enhancing Mental Health
Mental health can be enhanced through self-care and taking active steps to better one’s wellbeing. To some extent, wellbeing is subjective in that what can have a positive impact on each person’s life varies. However, there are five basic elements, encapsulated within the PERMA+ model, that are regarded as universal in helping cultivate greater overall happiness and wellbeing, thereby, enhancing mental health.
PERMA+ Model of Wellbeing
- Positive Emotion
- Engagement (or flow)
- Relationships
- Meaning
- Achievements
The plus (+) element refers to aspects beyond those already mentioned such as optimism, healthy eating patterns, exercise and sleep. There practical ways of applying the PERMA+ model to everyday life. The first step is to identify which elements are lacking in your life or can be improved upon. Thereafter, set goals to improve those elements and outline a plan to achieve them. For example, practicing mindfulness by keeping a gratitude journal can assist in increasing positive energy and highlights accomplishments. Acknowledging then celebrating accomplishments can boost confidence and help us find meaning. And assessing which relationships in our lives are healthy, then reaching out to those people, builds and strengthens relationships which enhance mental health.
Holistic Mental Health
A holistic mental health approach encapsulates a person’s overall health profile. It is an increasingly popular approach to enhancing mental health. A holistic mental health approach goes beyond treating problematic mental health symptoms. It does this by examining the interplay between mental, emotional, physical, spiritual and social factors. In so doing, it seeks the possible root causes of a mental health issue and devises a mind-and-body treatment strategy.
The ability of someone to enhance their mental health is inextricably linked to boosting their overall wellbeing. The starting point of this journey of enhancing mental health is to better understand the mind-body connection. Practicing intentional breathing, mindfulness and meditation are good ways to start to understand how your body and mind connect. Another way of augmenting the connection between mind-and-body is through movement such as dance or yoga. For some, engaging with a somatic therapist is helpful. During somatic therapy sessions clients are taught how to release pent-up emotions that are negatively impacting their physical and mental wellbeing.
Invest in Your Mental Wellbeing with SACAP Global
Mental health is the cornerstone of our existence. It’s what gets us out of bed in the morning, fuelling our courage to face the challenges of the world, both in our expansive macrocosms and intimate microcosms. It influences every facet of our being, extending its impact to those around us. As we strive to enhance our mental health, we enrich our lives and create a positive ripple effect across our relationships, workspaces and communities.
If you’re ready to invest in your mental wellbeing and explore the profound benefits of a holistic approach, then consider studying. SACAP Global offers a range of short online courses and workshops designed to empower you. Whether you’re looking to improve your mental health outcomes, integrate holistic mental health approaches or contribute to community mental health, there’s a course for you.
Take the next step in your mental health journey – click on the link to peruse your various options:
- Enhancing Mental Health
- Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness
- Managing & Preventing Anxiety
- Developing a Growth Mindset
- Holistic Approach to Managing Depression
- Youth Mental Health First Aid
- Introducing the EmotionAid® Protocol
