Criteria of Good Community Mental Health - Case Study Example

Good Mental Health Name: Course: Instructor: Good Mental Health The WHO defines health as a state mental, social, as well as spiritual well-being and not just the absence of any disease in the body. All the above aspects contribute to good health in someone’s body; good mental health, therefore, is a particular human endeavor in which people do things in describable and relatively organized ways. It is the outcome of interactions and that individuals and families use in the process of adapting and achieving satisfaction in loving relationships in daily activities and relationships. Moreover, good mental health can be defined in terms of the way individuals adjust to different environments around the world. It is the adjustment of human beings with each other and to the world around them with maximum effectiveness and happiness. Good mental health is and individual matter; it involves a living organism or more precisely the condition of a person’s human mind (Bassavanthappa, 2007). When a person is can carry out their roles in the society, and their behavior is adaptive to the environment, the person is said to be in good mental health. Besides, when the same roles and responsibilities are not met, the person is said to be ill. It is worth to note that culture plays a significant role in the determination of good mental health; a behavior that is acceptable to one cultural group may not be tolerated by another group. For example, in Enrico’s case, he plays loud music all night; although this might be acceptable in Italy, it may not be acceptable in Australia hence he is seen not to be in good mental health. Some of the criteria that are used to define good mental health include positive attitude towards self; this is in relation to a person’s self-awareness, confidence as well as their level of self-esteem. A person that has good mental health will always have a sense of identity. Moreover, the other criterion is growth and development of oneself. Besides, the ability to balance psychic forces and frustration during resistance to stress can also count as good mental health. The other criteria are autonomy, perception to reality and environmental mastery. If a person does not meet the above criteria, then they are said not to be in good mental health (Tengland, 2013). Enrico does not meet the above criteria and, for this reason, his state of mental health is in question. In general, the characteristics of good mental health include; an individual who is well adjusted and has an insight into and an understanding of his motive; Enrico does not have such an understanding. Moreover, Enrico has no sense of personal worth since he drinks all his money. Moreover, a person who is good mental health feels loved and wanted by other people but Enrico is feeling none of this given that he does not want to talk about his problem to anyone. Moreover, if a person has the good mental health, they will understand the environment that they operate in and behave appropriately. What is more, a person in good mental health lives in a world of reality rather than fantasy as is the case of Enrico (Neeraja, 2008). A sense of community feeling, access to adequate resources, support of diversity among people will have a positive effect on the mental health of a person. There are several factors that influence Enrico’s life; these factors range from the environment to his adaptive ability. The first factor that seems to be influence Enrico to lead such a life is the lack of self-esteem. The aspect can be seen in the way he has been behaving for the past two weeks; he has the fear that his roommates have been talking about him. Moreover, the environment is also a relevant influence when it comes to Enrico’s life; he has been keeping everything to himself and not being open to a chance to talk to anyone. Although people rarely acknowledge it, culture has many dimensions. Culture includes ethnicity, race, religion, and age. When it comes to mental health, culture influences how individuals manifest symptoms, communicate their symptoms, cope with psychological and the willingness to seek treatment. Moreover, it has been argued that culture and mental illness are more or less embedded in each other, and an understanding of the role of culture in mental health is essential in the treatment of mental illness. In Enrico’s case, culture seems to be playing a significant role when it comes to his mental health. He does not have personal experience of the illness or the symptoms associated with it since he has not asked for any help. Moreover, he does not express his experience or the context within his cultural norms. The global view when it comes to mental illnesses is that some behaviors are common among people but the development and expression, as well as the response to the condition, is influenced by culture (Eshun & Gurung, 2009). Furthermore, Enrico has a support system that comes in many ways but does not take advantage of it to address his problem. Support systems come in forms such as relatives and friends or religious groups as well as occupational and community support groups. In most cases, nurses make a list of names and agencies that the patient can call for support; however, the nurse should get the patient's consent before coming up with such a list (Videbeck, 2011). In Enrico’s case, the support systems include his two roommates, his employers, and his family. However, people around him have never heard him speak of his family back in Italy and it they try to bring up the issue Enrico is mad. A functioning individual is on who achieves satisfaction coping behavior and adaptive relationship by developing appropriate skills abilities and relationships at each stage of their lifespan. These adaptive responses allow a person to adjust to both external needs and the external demands. If a person does not possess such skills, they can be said to be mentally ill (Creek, Lougher & Bruggen, 2008). Enrico has recently moved to Australia, which is quite different from his home country Italy. To succeed in this environment, Enrico has to have adaptive skills that will enhance his interactions with colleagues. However, this is not the case as Henry does not adapt well to his roommates one from Denmark and the other from Iran. Moreover, he looks like he has not embraced the culture of Australia that is different from that of Italy. What is more, Enrico has not yet adapted to his new work environment; it is essential that he does this because he will be working in the organization. There are three main factors that affect the mental health of a community. These factors are physical, social as well as cultural issues. The factors can have an adverse effect on the mental health, known as risk factors or positive effect on mental health, called protective factors (Creek, Lougher & Bruggen, 2008). In Enrico’s case, there are many risk factors the first one being the lack of communication skills; Enrico has not yet talked to anyone around, not even his family are aware of the problems he is facing. It only takes his employer and his colleagues to notice that he is having a problem. Moreover, the other risk factor is his lack of self-esteem; for example, why would he think that his roommates are taking about him. His large intake of alcohol and smoking are also risk factors when it comes to Enrico’s case; these two aspects make Enrico behave in a way that is not socially acceptable. The other risk factor is his behavior of playing loud music; this way neither his body nor mind finds time to relax. Moreover, Enrico has been skipping meals, and this has not helped his situation in any way given that he has been losing a lot of weight. The fact that his performance at work has been coming down at an alarming rate is also a risk factor that can be attributed to his state of mental health. The other risk factor does not have any friends in Sydney that are known to anyone. It is worth noting that some risk factor can be changed while other cannot be changed. Luckily, in Enrico’s case the entire risk factors can changed to make him a better person (Ritter & Lampkin, 2011). The risk factors for each are unique; what is a risk factor for one person may not be a risk factor for another. Protective factors are characteristics, variables or traits that guard against the effect of risk factors. Protective factors may reduce the probability that a person will develop mental illness or reduce the severity of the problem. These factors can be classified into external as well as external factors. Examples of the internal protective factors include good health, high-stress tolerance, positive coping skills and a positive outlook on life. Examples of external protective factors include supportive and positive family, social and community relationships, adequate economic resources as well as recreational activities (Jones, Fitzpatrick & Rogers, 2012). In Enrico’s case, there are several protective factors that can be used to address his mental illness. The first protective factor is taking to see a specialist who will recommend other protective factors. The psychiatrist will help in identifying the exact problem that that Enrico is facing and advice on appropriate measures. Moreover, his employer in Sydney should work towards identifying his family in Italy and tell them about the problem Enrico is facing. This will help Enrico in developing an attachment to his family. The other protective factor that can be used to address Enrico’s problem is encouraging him to participate in more recreational activities. Such a protective factor will help him is reducing his intake of alcohol and develop meaningful social relationships. What is more, Enrico should develop a positive outlook on life; this will help in reducing the amount of money he spends on alcohol and smoking (Barry & Jenkins, 2007). Moreover, after his employer has had Enrico back to his required state, he should not terminate his employment rather he should work on retaining him. Moreover, the company should sponsor Enrico to the graduate program as initially planned; this will help Enrico positively in bringing down his levels of stress and not going back to taking alcohol. The other supportive factor is that Enrico should have access to support services at all times during and after his treatment period (Vandiver, 2009). To conclude, good mental health is essential to any societal setting. If the community is in good mental health, then the members of the given society will be productive. Moreover, good mental health contributes to the development of the society in positive ways. As seen in Enrico’s case, lack of good mental health can have detrimental effects on not only the person but also the community around them. If appropriate action is not taken soon enough, then the effects will be too much; regardless of the protective measures taken, the person might not regain their good mental health. What is more, every individual should always be on the look out to see if anyone around him or her is having a mental health issue so that they can work towards helping the person. Furthermore, authorities should come up with appropriate measures to address the issue of community mental health. This will be great towards ensuring that the whole community is in good mental health. Moreover, it is the roles of every person to ensure that people around them are mentally stable and are leading healthy lives. References Barry, M., & Jenkins, R. (2007). Implementing mental health promotion. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier. Basavanthappa, B. (2007). Psychiatric mental health nursing. New Delhi: Jaypee Brothers. Creek, J., Lougher, L., & Bruggen, H. (2008). Occupational therapy and mental health. London: Churchill Livingstone. Eshun, S., & Gurung, R. (2009). Culture and mental health. Chichester, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell. Jones, J., Fitzpatrick, J., & Rogers, V. (2012). Psychiatric-mental health nursing. New York: Springer Pub. Neeraja, K. (2008). Essentials of mental health and psychiatric nursing. New Delhi: Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers. Ritter, L., & Lampkin, S. (2011). Community Mental Health. Burlington MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Tengland, P. (2013). Mental Health. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. Vandiver, V. (2009). Integrating health promotion and mental health. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Videbeck, S. (2011). Psychiatric-mental health nursing. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Read More