Mental Health: More than a Feeling

What know what mental health feels like, but it’s also important to move past the subjective and describe in more objective terms what mental health looks like. Below are three complementary answers to this question.

Answer #1: Psychological Needs

When we are mentally healthy, we are getting our psychological needs met. We share basic psychological needs, chief among them being relatedness and authenticity. Relatedness refers to our need for meaningful and supportive relationships. Authenticity refers to our need to discover and express our core self, to develop our personality and potential. 

Additional reading:

Answer #2: Personality Organization

When we are mentally healthy, we possess a high level of personality organization. I’m referring to the psychoanalytic idea that personal functioning can be measured by assessing five key areas. If we have a high level of personality organization, we possess the following characteristics. Identity integration: our inner experience and behavior are fairly consistent throughout time, and we are able to integrate contradictory thoughts and feelings. Psychological mindedness: we possess the capacity to observe and understand our own mental states, and we can experience intense emotions while observing ourselves experience them. Reality testing: we’re able to accurately understand external events, differentiating reality from fantasy. Defenses: in response to stressful situations, we employ defenses that do not substantially distort reality. Others: we’re capable of seeing others as complex, multifaceted beings, and we’re capable of understanding their internal states.

Additional reading:

    Answer #3: Inner Capacities

    When we are mentally healthy, we possess certain inner capacities. Some of the most important inner capacities include the following

    Self-Understanding Capacities
    • Self-observation is the capacity to observe and understand our own mental states. In psychotherapy it is often essential to both experience intense emotions and observe ourselves while we’re experiencing them.
    • Emotional intelligence is the ability to experience and understand the full array of emotions. When we ourstand an emotion, we’re able to use it as a source of information that helps guide our behavior. 
    • Self-esteem regulation is the capacity to maintain a realistic belief about ourselves, a belief that is positive and compassionate while being anchored by accurate perceptions of our shortcomings. 
    • Integration of thoughts and feelings is the ability to bring together opposing thoughts and feelings. Integration affects how we view both ourselves and others, causing us to see ourselves and others as simultaneously containing both good and bad qualities.

    Relational Capacities
    • Mentalization is the capacity to understand other people’s mental states. This includes being able to understand their nonverbal cues and intuit their emotional states.
    • Relational equilibrium is the ability to maintain balance in our relationships. Specifically, it is the ability to maintain balance between independence and dependence and between distance and closeness. 
    • Interpersonal effectiveness refers to such skills as asserting our needs in an assertive manner as well as using negotiation and compromise to resolve conflicts.

    Coping Capacities
    • Mature defense mechanisms are defense mechanisms that do not substantially distort reality. Everybody at times uses defense mechanisms in response to stressors. 
    • Emotional regulation is the ability to maintain control our emotions when they intensify. 
    • Adaptation and resiliency are the capacities to adjust to and persevere through difficult situations. 


    Self-Direction Capacities
    • Goal-making refers to the ability to formulate and pursue long-term goals.
    • Conscience is the capacity to attune to our values and use them to help guide our behavior.
    • Spirituality refers to the ability to formulate and be guided by a sense of purpose and meaning.

    Additional Reading:

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