Mental Hygiene: What It Is, Implications, and Future Directions

Every day, people struggle with mental health challenges; one in five people will experience a mental illness in their lifetime. Innovative approaches to strengthen the public mental health strategy warrant careful deliberation. This article reintroduces and explores the conceptual framework of mental hygiene. The concept of mental hygiene was originally introduced in the early 20th century, with the aim of preventing and treating mental illness and milder mental disorders. The movement lost its momentum shortly thereafter and the concept went largely ignored since then. Mental hygiene is a form of preventive maintenance that can be likened to other hygienic practices. Through the plasticity of the brain, mental training activities can foster healthy cognitive patterns that are conducive to well-being. The article offers a brief overview of some of the mental hygiene practices one can engage in, on a daily basis, to support well-being and assist in preventing mental health issues. Such mental training behaviors may potentially reduce ubiquitous human tendencies to ruminate and mind-wander without awareness, which when in excess correlate with increased activity of the default mode network and susceptibility to the pathogenesis of mental illness, along with impeding human flourishing. The article advocates for the routine engagement in healthy mental hygiene to become a global recommendation.

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World Mental Health Day

International Journal of Indian Psychology ◽

10.25215/0204.045 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Dr. Meghamala. S. Tavaragi ◽

Mrs. Sushma.C ◽

Dr. Susheelkumar V. Ronad

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Behavioral Health ◽

Mental Hygiene ◽

Global Mental Health ◽

Well Being ◽

Psychological State ◽

Health Clinic ◽

World Mental Health ◽

The World

World Mental Health Day (10 October) is a day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy. It was first celebrated in 1992 at the initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health, a global mental health organization with members and contacts in more than 150 countries. This day, each October thousands of supporters come to celebrate this annual awareness program to bring attention to Mental Illness and its major effects on peoples’ life worldwide. In some countries this day is part of the larger Mental Illness Awareness Week. Mental health is a level of psychological well-being, or an absence of a mental disorder it is the “psychological state of someone who is functioning at a satisfactory level of emotional and behavioral adjustment”. The definition of mental health highlights emotional well-being, the capacity to live a full and creative life, and the flexibility to deal with life’s inevitable challenges. A person struggling with his or her behavioral health may face stress, depression, anxiety, relationship problems, grief, addiction, ADHD or learning disabilities, mood disorders, or other psychological concerns. Counselors, therapists, life coaches, psychologists, nurse practitioners or physicians can help manage behavioral health concerns with treatments such as therapy, counseling, or medication. At the beginning of the 20th century, Clifford Beers founded the National Committee for Mental Hygiene and opened the first outpatient mental health clinic in the United States of America. The mental hygiene movement, related to the social hygiene movement, had at times been associated with advocating eugenics and sterilization of those considered too mentally deficient to be assisted into productive work and contented family life. Global mental health is the international perspective on different aspects of mental health. The overall aim of the field of global mental health is to strengthen mental health all over the world by providing information about the mental health situation in all countries, and identifying mental health care needs in order to develop cost-effective interventions to meet those specific needs.

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Policy challenges

Oxford Textbook of Public Mental Health ◽

10.1093/med/9780198792994.003.0015 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 131-140 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Felicia A. Huppert ◽

Kai Ruggeri

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Health Policy ◽

Mental Health Policy ◽

Public Mental Health ◽

Well Being ◽

Diverse Populations ◽

Widespread Agreement ◽

Uniform Definition ◽

Mental Well Being

Taking a whole-population perspective, the chapter argues that improved well-being is the most important outcome of policy. Despite growing awareness of its importance, accepting the primacy of well-being has been a challenge within public mental health because there has been no uniform definition or measure, nor consensus on how to apply such a subjective concept across diverse populations. Confusion created by using terms such as happiness, or the continuing tendency to equate mental well-being with lack of mental illness, have created barriers to gaining widespread agreement on the importance of well-being in policy. In this chapter, historical approaches to defining well-being, issues of measurement, and evidence underpinning well-being interventions are explored. The chapter closes with a proposal on how best to consider well-being as an outcome, making use of the evidence in driving public mental health policy.

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Plans, hopes and ideas for mental health

BJPsych Bulletin ◽

10.1192/pb.bp.116-053793 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 41 (1) ◽

pp. 3-6 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

John R. Ashton

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Health Services ◽

Public Mental Health ◽

Well Being ◽

The Subject ◽

The Individual ◽

Mental Health Foundation ◽

Mental Well Being

SummaryMental health and the failings of the mental health services are in the spotlight as never before. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the often dire situation with regard to child and adolescent mental health. At the same time, there is a renewed interest in the scope for prevention of mental illness and distress, and in population approaches to mental well-being. It may come as a surprise to some that others have given such serious consideration to strategic approaches to public mental health as long ago as the 1950s. It appears that such consideration was squeezed out by the dominant concerns of serious and enduring mental illness and a prevailing biological view of psychiatry. The time is right to engage with this agenda in recognition of the importance of public mental health, not only for the individual and for families, but also for society as a whole and for the economy. The publication of a review of the subject by the Faculty of Public Health and the Mental Health Foundation is to be commended. Let us make sure it leads to action.

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Genetic influences across the age span

Oxford Textbook of Public Mental Health ◽

10.1093/med/9780198792994.003.0006 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 55-58

Author(s):

Edward Shaw ◽

Daniel J. Smith

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Psychiatric Disorders ◽

Large Scale ◽

Genetic Research ◽

Public Mental Health ◽

Well Being ◽

Health Significance

Most psychiatric disorders have a genetic component. Mental illness tends to occur as a consequence of the dynamic interaction between genetic vulnerabilities and environmental risk factors. Future advances in public mental health should bear in mind the important role of genetics in determining mental health and well-being. Genetic research raises important ethical considerations. The challenges of discovering genetic risk factors for psychiatric disorders are outlined, along with examples of recent discoveries from large-scale genetic epidemiological research. The focus is on an age span perspective, with consideration of the role of epigenetic processes during development. Discoveries in childhood (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), adulthood (schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) and older-age (Alzheimer’s disease) are summarized. The public health significance of psychiatric genetics is considered within the context of ongoing global efforts to understand the causes of mental illness and how this might lead to new approaches to diagnosis, classification, and treatment.

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Toward Recovery & Well-Being: A Framework for a Mental-Health Strategy for Canada

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e504202013-001 ◽

2009 ◽

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Well Being ◽

Health Strategy

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Older Adults’ Subjective Well-being Following an Exergame Intervention “Bandit the Dolphin”: Focus Group Findings

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.549 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 169-170

Author(s):

Brittany Drazich ◽

Breanna Crane ◽

Kyle Moored ◽

Karl Shieh ◽

Janiece Taylor ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Older Adults ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Focus Groups ◽

Well Being ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Mental Illness Stigma ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Future Health ◽

Adult Participants

Abstract Due to generational mental illness stigma and under diagnosis of mental illness, older adults do not always receive the mental health help that they need. One unique technology that has the potential to improve mood in older adults is exergames, or exercise video games. The objective of this sub-study (main study: Stimulation With Intricate Movements “SWIM” Study) was to explore older adults’ mood following an exergame intervention called “Bandit the Dolphin,” created by the Johns Hopkins KATA Studio. Researchers conducted three focus groups with 14 community-dwelling older adult participants who took part in the SWIM Study exergame intervention. The semi-structured focus groups were transcribed, coded, and analyzed using deductive and inductive techniques described by Ray Maietta’s “sort and sift, think and shift” method. Three themes related to playing “Bandit the Dolphin” and mood emerged. First, participants described their perceived association between activity and mood. Participants felt that both active and passive activities, “Bandit the Dolphin” and otherwise, improved their mood through the “fun” factor, and through feelings of achievement. Second, the participants described that the competition and frustration of playing “Bandit the Dolphin” increased eventual feelings of achievement. Third, participants described how feelings of immersion, or being absorbed in the game, helped them forget their other life concerns. These findings provide a better understanding of older adults’ perceived relationship between an exergame intervention, “Bandit the Dolphin,” and short-term improved mood. Future health and engineering researchers should explore exergames as a potential tool to improve the mental health of older adults.

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Food for thought: the importance of nutritional well-being during COVID-19

Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/ipm.2021.2 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-6

Author(s):

L. Burke-Furey ◽

F. McNicholas

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Life Expectancy ◽

Nutritional Status ◽

Crucial Role ◽

Well Being ◽

Physical And Mental Health ◽

Balanced Diet ◽

Current Experience ◽

Roll Out

Individuals with mental illness have poorer physical health, nutritional status, and lowered life expectancy. Optimising their physical and nutritional status has become an increasingly important therapeutic goal. Current experience with COVID-19 has further emphasised the susceptibility to physical illness and poorer outcomes amongst individuals with mental illness and those who are nutritionally compromised. Although life as we knew it has been suspended until the widespread roll-out of a vaccine, individuals can take immediate action to improve physical and mental health by attending to and optimising their nutritional well-being. Clinicians within mental health services have a crucial role to play in assisting such change, and reminding their patients of the importance of pursuing a healthy and balanced diet.

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Embitterment as a Specific Mental Health Reaction during the Coronavirus Pandemic

Psychopathology ◽

10.1159/000517447 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Beate Muschalla ◽

Clio Vollborn ◽

Anke Sondhof

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Online Survey ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Affective State ◽

Well Being ◽

Health Problems ◽

Social Consequences ◽

High Rate ◽

Perceived Injustice

Introduction: Embitterment can occur as a reaction to perceived injustice. During the pandemic and restrictions in daily living due to infection risk management, a range of many smaller or severe injustices have occurred. Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate what characterizes persons with high embitterment, mental illness, embitterment and mental illness, and those without embitterment or mental health problems. Methods: We conducted an online survey including persons from the general population in November 2020 and December 2020, the phase during which a second lockdown took place, with closed shops, restaurants, cultural and activity sites. 3,208 participants (mean age 47 years) gave self-ratings on their present well-being, burdens experienced during the pandemic, embitterment, wisdom, and resilience. Results: Embitterment occurred among 16% of the sample, which is a high rate in comparison with 4% during pre-pandemic times. Embitterment was weakly correlated with unspecific mental well-being. There were more persons with embitterment than those with embitterment and a mental health problem. Persons with embitterment reported less coronavirus-related anxiety than persons without embitterment. However, embittered persons reported more social and economic burdens and more frequent experiences of losses (job loss and canceling of medical treatments). Embittered persons perceive their own wisdom competencies on a similar level as persons with mental health problems or persons without mental health problems. Conclusion: Embitterment is a specific potentially alone-standing affective state, which is distinguishable from general mental health and coping capacities (here: wisdom). The economic and social consequences of pandemic management should be carefully recognized and prevented by policy.

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Comment: ‘Devining’ The Role of the Consultant Psychiatrist in a Public Mental Health Service

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.3109/00048679809113111 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 32 (5) ◽

pp. 612-615 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Alan Rosen

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Mental Health Service ◽

Public Mental Health ◽

Consultant Psychiatrist ◽

Persistent Mental Illness ◽

Public Mental Health Service ◽

Key Players ◽

Recovery Program

We admitted to ourselves, …and to our colleagues that we cannot treat people with severe and persistent mental illness as independent practitioners, and asked to be key players on the multidisciplinary team (Extract from A 12-Step Recovery Program for Psychiatrists [1]).

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