Website owner:  James Miller

On Mental Health



   What is the essence of mental health?  What kind of mentality, 
   outlook, attitudes and values does the mentally healthy person 
   have?  Is not mental health closely related to mental balance?  
   What is mental balance?  What is involved in it?  We speak of a 
   person as being well-balanced.  What do we mean?

   Dictionary definition of "well-balanced":  sensible; sane; 
    sound.     (Funk & Wagnalls Dictionary)


   Roget's Thesaurus gives us words of similar meaning to "well-
      balanced":  sensible, sane, sound, reasonable, rational, 
      logical, philosophical, level-headed, cool-headed, cool, 
      sober, sober-minded, staid, composed, collected, self-
      possessed, self-controlled, self-restrained, confident, 
      self-confident, self-assured. 

   A mentally healthy person is a person who is always regulated 
   by or ruled by Mind, Intellect, Reason.  He is serious, 
   thoughtful, self-controlled, sober, balanced.  Rule by Mind, 
   Intellect, Reason gives mental balance, mental health. 

   Mental health is a product of a certain personality pattern --- 
   of certain personal attributes, attitudes, values, outlooks and 
   ways of behaving and responding to situations.  What are they?  
   To name a few:  honesty, integrity, justness, humility, self-
   control, self-denial, kindness and politeness toward others, 
   concern and consideration for others, seriousness, tendency 
   toward reflection and thought, patience, perseverance, 
   diligence, courage, etc.  In fact they are the very same 
   values, attitudes and ways of behaving that we find taught in 
   the gospels and epistles of the New Testament.  They also 
   correspond to the way demanded by Reason and that voice within 
   us (that we call conscience) that tells us what is right and 
   wrong.  And they correspond to the way of Wisdom, 
   Understanding, the love of Truth, the pursuit of Truth.  They 
   correspond to a correct and proper perspective on life and 
   things --- an appreciation of what is really important in life 
   and what isn't.  They correspond to correct values and 
   outlooks.

   What kind of things tend to impair or diminish mental health, 
   to cause mental imbalance?  Well, what kinds of things stand 
   against regulation by Mind, Intellect and Reason?  To name 
   some:  pride, arrogance, having an unduly high opinion of 
   oneself, dishonesty, deceit, unjustness, anger, hatred, malice, 
   vindictiveness, rudeness, selfishness, envy, jealousy, strife,
   indifference to others, actions opposed to conscience and 
   Reason, impetuousness, impatience, laziness, cowardice, etc.  
   In fact, the very same things that Christian teaching calls 
   sin.

   So how does a person with emotional or mental problems get rid 
   of them?  What can he do?  I believe he should pursue Truth and 
   Understanding through observation, thought and reflection, and 
   the study of God's principles for living.  Understanding and 
   perspective (understanding and perspective on life, on yourself 
   and on other people) are closely connected to good mental 
   health.  I believe the cause of most emotional or mental 
   problems are wrong outlooks, values, attitudes and habits of 
   mind.


   Nov 2003





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