It's time to change the way that we think about mental health
When thinking about mental health the vast majority of us assume a perspective that might be better labelled 'mental ill-health'. This is evident in the way that we typically define mental health as the absence of mental illness (e.g., the absence of depression or anxiety). However, mental health and mental illness are not opposite ends of the same continuum.
Mental health is best understood as a complete state
Keyes' (2002, 2005) dual continuum model proposes mental health and mental illness to be two distinct, but related, concepts (see Figure 1). Each concept is thought to lie on a separate continuum. One continuum indicates the presence/absence of positive mental health. The other indicates the presence/absence of mental disorders.
According to the model,
an individual high in positive mental health can be described as flourishing
an individual low in positive mental health can be described as languishing
an individual could be flourishing (experiencing high positive mental health) at the same time as living with a mental disorder
an individual could be languishing (experiencing low positive mental health) without having a mental disorder.
Therefore, the absence of mental disorders does not necessarily mean the presence of positive mental health nor does the presence of a mental disorder mean the absence of positive mental health. This reframing of mental health as a complete state that extends beyond mental illness is reflected in the World Health Organisation's recent definition of mental health as 'a state of mental wellbeing that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realise their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community' (WHO, 2022).
References
Keyes, C. L. (2002). The mental health continuum: From languishing to flourishing in life. Journal of health and social behavior, 207-222. https://doi.org/10.2307/3090197.
Keyes, C. L. (2005). Mental Illness and/or Mental Health? Investigating Axioms of the Complete State Model of Health. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73(3), 539–548. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.73.3.539.
World Health Organisation (2022) Mental health: strengthening our response. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-response. (Last accessed: 11/12/2022).
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