“Choice is a determinant in personal development” - Bernard Lonergan
A new Saturday arrived. I woke up a little late this morning. Everything seemed hazy at first, but I pushed myself off the bed. As I walked past the window in my brightly lit living room, I felt the slow cold breeze that gushed inside, along with the warmth of the sun rays which made its way through the glass. The plants outside looked happy today. I sipped on my coffee, which smelled divine and tasted heavenly. I felt energised and grabbed a book, turning every page softly. I gave myself some time apart from everything and did what made me happy. It was a beautiful Saturday!
Someone rightly said, “It’s all about the little things.” Aspects like these, from big ones like receiving a surprise from a loved one, to small ones like having your favourite ice-cream, become factors that influence our wellness, our attitude, our behaviour, and our happiness throughout the day. All of these need not be large events; happiness and peace can be obtained from simple things like a nice cup of coffee, or feeling the soft breeze.
Importance of youth mental health
We all are different. We all think differently. We all feel emotions differently. We all are so diverse and our lives are different in so many ways, yet we experience similar events in our lives. Experiencing almost the same set patterns of life, also makes us alike in several ways.
We are young, still figuring out our way through life and it can get overwhelming and stressful a lot of times. But making sure we do not let those aspects affecting us go unacknowledged is the first step towards giving importance to one’s mental health. Mental health is so much more than mere absence of a mental illness. It is a combination of our emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing, and it affects every aspect of our lives. Good mental health can make us physically healthier, more resilient, more productive, helps us maintain healthy relationships with our family and friends, and helps in our overall growth.
The events we experience in life can be positive or negative, and between those events, it is so important to stop and breathe, to take a moment and understand how much our mind and body are doing for us every day. And taking care of our mental health alongside our physical health can be the bare minimum yet best way to give back love to our mind and body. Ways to take care of mental health can be different for everyone, but the common aspect is the goal – MENTAL WELLNESS.
Meaning of Determinants of Mental Health
Determinants of mental health can be described as the people that we meet, objects that we see and events that we experience in our daily lives which become factors that influence our mental wellness. These factors impact our behavior, attitude, emotions and more, towards a person, object, event and/or our lives in general. Most of it depends on our perspectives and responses. Having to see your favorite dessert being served unexpectedly can make your day, and play a role as a factor that affects your mental well-being.
Types of Determinants of Mental Health
Determinants of mental health can be POSITIVE and NEGATIVE in a broad sense. It depends on our response, the effect and impact it has had on us throughout a span of time.
Positive determinants of mental health refer to the factors in our daily lives that impact our mental health in a positive sense in order to have a positive response over a long span of time. For instance, if an individual gets to go to a place for vacation where they have always been wanting to go, they may experience feelings of excitement and pleasure for a while, and the incredible memories of the place can lead to them having a feeling of contentment and happiness for a longer span of time.
Negative determinants of mental health refer to the factors that have a negative impact on our mental health over a long period of time. For instance, an individual betrayed by their most trusted friend will have a negative impact or response for an individual, in a way that they might experience low mood for a short span of time and may not easily trust anyone for a longer period. Such stressors, traumas, phobias, etc., can add on to negative determinants.
But these can be theoretically classified into social determinants, economic determinants, and physical environments.
Social Determinants- Refers to the conditions in the places where one lives, learns, and works that affect a wide range of mental health risks and outcomes. These include environmental, structural, and local interventions. Such actions to prevent mental disorders are likely to promote mental health in the population. For instance, an individual with a positive family environment, that is, having family members or close friends who are caring and loving, plays a huge role in an individual's boost towards good mental health.
“The Social Determinants of Mental Health aims to fill the gap that exists in the psychiatric, scholarly, and policy-related literature on the social determinants of mental health: those factors stemming from where we learn, play, live, work, and age that impact our overall mental health and well-being.” The social determinants of mental health (2015) edited by Michael T. Compton, Ruth S. Shim
Economic Determinants- Refers to the affordability of resources that has an impact on one’s mental health. Mental health problems can be caused due to deprivation, poverty, inequality, and other economic determinants. Economic crises are therefore times of high risk to the mental well-being of the population and of the people affected and their families. For instance, if an individual loses their job while they have responsibilities or even if they live alone, it tends to be a risk factor leading to poor mental wellness.
Physical Environments- Refers to the physical factors or the environment one lives in that becomes a determinant of one’s mental health. Some physical causes (such as birth trauma, brain injury or drug abuse) can directly affect brain chemistry and contribute to mental illness. More commonly, poor physical health can affect self-esteem and people's ability to meet their goals, which leads to unhappiness or even depression.
Determinants of Youth Mental Health
Scientifically, factors like genetics, environment, parenting style, trauma, and many more have a huge impact on our mental health over a long period of time for all human beings. But even smaller factors can determine our mental health for a shorter period, on a day-to-day basis. In the lives of the younger generation negative factors like excess workload and insecurities may become a cause of stress and mental fatigue. There can be several negative determinants but our responses towards it makes their impact significant or insignificant. Hence, highlighting the importance of taking care of our mental health.
Conclusion
Let’s go back to the description of a part of my Saturday. I listed out little things that determined my mental wellness for the day – the time I got for myself, the coffee, the book and all the little things I noticed in my nearest environment that gave me peace. All of it gave me a medium to acknowledge my mental wellness due to the determinants. It is so important to work on ourselves for the betterment of our mental health.
If you are laying down right now, or sitting on your desk, or eating, whatever it is you are doing while reading this, the next thing you need to do after reading this is –
Correct your position
Grab a diary and pen
And write down all the practices you can perform to improve your mental wellness.
PRACTICE THEM
The determinants to our mental health can be various but it is YOU who can determine your mental wellness by simply taking care of yourself a little more, loving yourself a little more, smiling a little more and doing the best for yourself and accepting yourself with all your flaws.
“Choice is a determinant in personal development” Life is about choices, choose your mental wellness every day.
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