Mental Health And Wellbeing

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Introduction The issue of mental health and wellbeing has become one of the most important topics of discussion and research in the world today. With the increase in activity, exponential developments and advancements in technology, physical and mental strain and stress, competition, the constantly changing dynamics of family and society and various other such factors, there are a number of reasons as to why an individual's mental wellbeing might be affected. The concept of mental health and wellbeing is rather wide in terms of all it encompasses, and thus can be studied in parts. In this essay, the focus has been laid on maintaining and managing mental health and wellbeing in the higher education sector - pertaining mainly to students, but …show more content…

For instance, Ryff (1989; Ryff & Singer 1996) suggested six basic dimensions for measurement of positive mental health - self-acceptance, personal growth, purpose in life, autonomy, positive relations with others and environmental mastery. Various other units of measurement are used in order to determine the status of one's mental health. The major issue with these tools and methods is that there is rarely any consensus regarding which ones apply and which do not. Since there are a number of different factors - including demographic, biological, psychological, social, environmental and even economic ones which affect the mental health and wellbeing of people across the globe, it is difficult to incorporate all the given aspects into a single, holistic theory that is not only comprehensive but also has a practical aspect associated with it, such that it can be used in order to identify and treat mental health issues and promote awareness regarding the same as well. There does, however, seem to be a great deal of focus on the "psychosocial" aspect of mental health and wellbeing in current times, wherein it has been proposed that individual psychological profiles, along with various social facets, tend to play a very important role in impacting the phenomenon under consideration (Barry …show more content…

These include high-risk professions such as the armed forces, or high-trauma-inducing ones such as nursing in the more extreme terms, and international student status, adolescence oriented issues, and other such points in the more common ones (Jones & Johnson 2000; Zhou et al. 2008). A great degree of emphasis is laid on mental health and wellbeing in the adolescent or young adulthood years, since these are the formative years of an individual's life, and tend to determine how they would turn out as adults (Hunt & Eisenberg 2010; Viner et al. 2012). Thus, just like childhood, stress can cause a great deal of mental health damage to adolescents, while a positive environment and treatment from others can offer a positive impact. While there certainly are other factors involved, mental health and wellbeing in higher education institutes have become essential for this very reason. The amount of stress adolescents face today, especially given the pressure to perform academically as well as in extracurricular activities, the high levels of competition and the need to excel, create a negative environment for them, especially if the parents, tutors or guidance providers are not careful with the way they treat them (Fisher 1994). The aspect of "fitting in" and

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