CHAPTER 7: Achieving Good Mental Health
TERMS TO KNOW: Mental/ Emotional health, hierarchy of needs, self-actualization, personality, modeling, personal identity, developmental assets, constructive criticism, emotions, hormone, empathy, hostility, defense mechanisms, suppression
I. Your Mental and Emotional Health
A. Characteristics of GOOD mental/ emotional health
1. Definition - the ability to ACCEPT YOURSELF and OTHERS, ADAPT to and MANAGE emotions, and
DEAL with the DEMANDS and CHALLENGES you meet in life.
2. People with GOOD mental/ emotional health demonstrate:
* Positive Self-Esteem
* Sense of Belonging
* Sense of purpose
* Positive Outlook
* Autonomy
II. A Pyramid of NEEDS
A. HIERARCHY OF NEEDS - Created by Abraham Maslow, it is a ranked list of those needs essential to human growth and development, presented in ascending order, starting with basic needs and building toward the need for reaching your highest potential.
I. Your Mental and Emotional Health
A. Characteristics of GOOD mental/ emotional health
1. Definition - the ability to ACCEPT YOURSELF and OTHERS, ADAPT to and MANAGE emotions, and
DEAL with the DEMANDS and CHALLENGES you meet in life.
2. People with GOOD mental/ emotional health demonstrate:
* Positive Self-Esteem
* Sense of Belonging
* Sense of purpose
* Positive Outlook
* Autonomy
II. A Pyramid of NEEDS
A. HIERARCHY OF NEEDS - Created by Abraham Maslow, it is a ranked list of those needs essential to human growth and development, presented in ascending order, starting with basic needs and building toward the need for reaching your highest potential.
1. Physical needs - survival needs such as food, water, sleep, and shelter from the elements. People denied of these basic needs become physically
weak and may develop illnesses
2. Safety and Security - Includes more than just safeguarding yourself against physical harm. Included in this is to secure your home, family, and friends
3. Love and Belonging - everyone needs to give love and to know they are loved in return. Humans are social beings and need to interact with other people
and to know that we are valued members of a group that enhances our physical, mental, and social health
4. Self - Esteem - we need to be appreciated, to be personally valued by family, friends, and peers. Being able to to do something well and gain respect
and feeling of self-worth
5. Self-actualization - striving to become the best you can be. Your FULL POTENTIAL as a human being?
III. Unedrstanding your Personality
A. Personality is a complex set of characteristics that makes you unique. What makes you different from everyone else and how you react in certain
situations
1. Influences on your personality
a. heredity
b. environment
c. behavior
IV. Developing a Positive Identity
A. Your Personal Identity: sense of yourself as a unique individual
1. your interests
2. likes and dislikes
3. talents and abilities
4. values and beliefs
5. goals
V. Your Developmental Assets - building blocks of development that help young people grow up as healthy, caring and responsible individuals
A. 40 assets that can help young people make healthful decisions on road to adulthood
1. Support - family, positive family communication relationships with other adults, caring neighborhood, caring school climate, parental involvement in
school
2. Empowerment - being valued by adults in the community, serving a purpose by having a role in the community, feeling safe at home, at school, and
neighborhood
3. Boundaries and Expectations - family boundaries (clear rules and consequences), school boundaries, neighborhood boundaries, adult role models,
positive peer influences, high expectations
4. Constructive use of Time - creative activities, youth programs, time at home, sports
5. Commitment to Learning - being motivated to achieve, being involved at school, doing homework, reading for pleasure
6. Positive Values - compassion, equality and social justice, integrity, honesty, responsibility, self-control
7. Social Competencies - planning and decision making, interpersonal communication, having knowledge and tolerance of different cultures,
resistance skills, peaceful conflict-resolution skills
8. Positive Identity - personal power, self-esteem, sense of purpose, positive view of personal future
VI. Working Toward a Healthy Identity
A. Active steps to strengthen assets and build a healthy identity. This process requires Self-Acceptance and Self-Improvement
1. Recognize Your Strengths and Weaknesses
2. Demonstrate Positive Values
3. Develop a Purpose in your Life
4. Form Meaningful Relationships
5. Contribute to the Community
6. Avoid Unhealthful Risk Behaviors
VII. Understanding Emotions
A. Define Emotions - signals that tell your mind and body how to react. AKA FEELINGS
- responses to certain thoughts and events
- key to building and maintaining healthy relationships.
1. Joy - prompt the release for brain chemicals that cause you to experience warmth and a sense of well being. Joy promotes mental/emotional
health and positively influences relationships
2. Fear - triggers physical changes, including increased perspiration, an increase in heart rate, tightening of muscles. this is known as
FIGHT-or-FLIGHT (defend or flee)
3. Anger - cause both physical and mental responses, such as an increase in heart rate and feelings of distress. Responses such as
lashing out, can be harmful to you or other people.
VIII. Identifying Your Emotions
A. Hormones - a chemical secreted by your glands that regulates the activities of different body cells
B. Different Types
1. Happiness
2. Sadness
3. Love
4. Empathy
5. Fear
6. Guilt
7. Anger
IV. Managing Emotions
A. Responding to your Emotions (Strategies)
1. Ask yourself: What am i really reacting to? Does the intensity of my emotion match the situation?
2. Consider whether or not the situation to which you are reacting will matter tomorrow, next week, next year.
3. Don't take action until you have thoroughly considered the possible consequences of your action
4. Use positive feelings to inspire yourself.
5. Seek help from parents, trusted adult, or health care professional
B. Common Defense Mechanisms
1. Repression - involuntary pushing of unpleasant feelings out of conscious thought
2. Suppression - conscious, intentional pushing of unpleasantness from ones mind
3. Rationalization - making excuses to explain a situation or behavior rather than taking responsibility for it
4. Regression - reverting to behaviors more characteristic of an earlier stage of development rather than dealing mature manner
5. Denial - unconscious lack of acknowledgement of something that is obvious to others
6. Compensation - Making up for weaknesses and mistakes through gift-giving, hard work or extreme efforts
7. Projection - attributing your own feelings or faults to another person or group
8. Idealization - Seeing someone else as perfect, ideal, or more worthy than everyone else.
weak and may develop illnesses
2. Safety and Security - Includes more than just safeguarding yourself against physical harm. Included in this is to secure your home, family, and friends
3. Love and Belonging - everyone needs to give love and to know they are loved in return. Humans are social beings and need to interact with other people
and to know that we are valued members of a group that enhances our physical, mental, and social health
4. Self - Esteem - we need to be appreciated, to be personally valued by family, friends, and peers. Being able to to do something well and gain respect
and feeling of self-worth
5. Self-actualization - striving to become the best you can be. Your FULL POTENTIAL as a human being?
III. Unedrstanding your Personality
A. Personality is a complex set of characteristics that makes you unique. What makes you different from everyone else and how you react in certain
situations
1. Influences on your personality
a. heredity
b. environment
c. behavior
IV. Developing a Positive Identity
A. Your Personal Identity: sense of yourself as a unique individual
1. your interests
2. likes and dislikes
3. talents and abilities
4. values and beliefs
5. goals
V. Your Developmental Assets - building blocks of development that help young people grow up as healthy, caring and responsible individuals
A. 40 assets that can help young people make healthful decisions on road to adulthood
1. Support - family, positive family communication relationships with other adults, caring neighborhood, caring school climate, parental involvement in
school
2. Empowerment - being valued by adults in the community, serving a purpose by having a role in the community, feeling safe at home, at school, and
neighborhood
3. Boundaries and Expectations - family boundaries (clear rules and consequences), school boundaries, neighborhood boundaries, adult role models,
positive peer influences, high expectations
4. Constructive use of Time - creative activities, youth programs, time at home, sports
5. Commitment to Learning - being motivated to achieve, being involved at school, doing homework, reading for pleasure
6. Positive Values - compassion, equality and social justice, integrity, honesty, responsibility, self-control
7. Social Competencies - planning and decision making, interpersonal communication, having knowledge and tolerance of different cultures,
resistance skills, peaceful conflict-resolution skills
8. Positive Identity - personal power, self-esteem, sense of purpose, positive view of personal future
VI. Working Toward a Healthy Identity
A. Active steps to strengthen assets and build a healthy identity. This process requires Self-Acceptance and Self-Improvement
1. Recognize Your Strengths and Weaknesses
2. Demonstrate Positive Values
3. Develop a Purpose in your Life
4. Form Meaningful Relationships
5. Contribute to the Community
6. Avoid Unhealthful Risk Behaviors
VII. Understanding Emotions
A. Define Emotions - signals that tell your mind and body how to react. AKA FEELINGS
- responses to certain thoughts and events
- key to building and maintaining healthy relationships.
1. Joy - prompt the release for brain chemicals that cause you to experience warmth and a sense of well being. Joy promotes mental/emotional
health and positively influences relationships
2. Fear - triggers physical changes, including increased perspiration, an increase in heart rate, tightening of muscles. this is known as
FIGHT-or-FLIGHT (defend or flee)
3. Anger - cause both physical and mental responses, such as an increase in heart rate and feelings of distress. Responses such as
lashing out, can be harmful to you or other people.
VIII. Identifying Your Emotions
A. Hormones - a chemical secreted by your glands that regulates the activities of different body cells
B. Different Types
1. Happiness
2. Sadness
3. Love
4. Empathy
5. Fear
6. Guilt
7. Anger
IV. Managing Emotions
A. Responding to your Emotions (Strategies)
1. Ask yourself: What am i really reacting to? Does the intensity of my emotion match the situation?
2. Consider whether or not the situation to which you are reacting will matter tomorrow, next week, next year.
3. Don't take action until you have thoroughly considered the possible consequences of your action
4. Use positive feelings to inspire yourself.
5. Seek help from parents, trusted adult, or health care professional
B. Common Defense Mechanisms
1. Repression - involuntary pushing of unpleasant feelings out of conscious thought
2. Suppression - conscious, intentional pushing of unpleasantness from ones mind
3. Rationalization - making excuses to explain a situation or behavior rather than taking responsibility for it
4. Regression - reverting to behaviors more characteristic of an earlier stage of development rather than dealing mature manner
5. Denial - unconscious lack of acknowledgement of something that is obvious to others
6. Compensation - Making up for weaknesses and mistakes through gift-giving, hard work or extreme efforts
7. Projection - attributing your own feelings or faults to another person or group
8. Idealization - Seeing someone else as perfect, ideal, or more worthy than everyone else.