Mental hygiene
Mental hygiene refers to the proactive care of one’s mental health aimed at preventing the onset of mental illness. This concept emphasizes the importance of maintaining overall physical health through adequate sleep, proper nutrition, regular exercise, and strong social support. Mental hygiene techniques also include stress reduction methods such as meditation and mental retraining, which help individuals manage anxiety and avoid unhealthy thought patterns. Historically, the term gained prominence in the early 20th century alongside movements advocating for better mental health care and awareness.
While mental hygiene principles are rooted in preventive medicine, individual practices can vary, making the concept highly subjective. Mental health professionals highlight that factors contributing to mental illness—including genetics, brain chemistry, and social conditions—can be managed through lifestyle choices. Regular checkups with mental health professionals are encouraged, especially for those with a history of mental health issues or familial predispositions. Overall, mental hygiene aims to foster a fulfilling, engaged life, which is crucial for maintaining mental well-being and reducing the risk of mental health disorders.
Mental hygiene
In medicine, mental hygiene is the practice of taking proactive care of one's mind as a means of preventing the onset of mental illness. Mental hygiene is a subjective concept with significant levels of individual variation, and there is no universally accepted set of steps or guidelines to follow. Fundamental concepts in mental hygiene emphasize the importance of adequate sleep, proper nutrition, regular exercise, social support, and regular checkups with a mental health professional.
At a more advanced level, mental hygiene also includes techniques designed to help relax and retrain the mind, thus helping individuals avoid unhealthy fixations and preoccupations that can trigger or intensify common mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depressive disorders. The concept of mental hygiene is built on assumptions similar to those applied in other forms of preventive medicine. It stresses the importance of self-awareness and conscientious effort to maintain optimal levels of health by avoiding behavior patterns and lifestyle choices known to affect well-being negatively.
Background
The earliest recorded use of the term mental hygiene dates to 1843, when it appeared in a medical book titled Mental Hygiene, or An Examination of the Intellect and Passions Designed to Illustrate Their Influence on Health and Duration of Life. The idea entered the mainstream lexicon in the United States in 1908, when psychiatric professionals and patients launched a movement dedicated to improving conditions and treatment options for those in need of mental health help. In 1909, the National Committee for Mental Hygiene was founded, an organization that later became known as the National Mental Health Association and then Mental Health America. In its initial phases, the American mental hygiene movement was mainly oriented toward improving mental health care, but it also emphasized the importance of early diagnosis and treatment and the need to educate groups and individuals on the proper application of preventive principles.
After the 1948 founding of the United Nations' World Health Organization (WHO), an International Congress on Mental Health was established in London, England. In 1950, during the WHO's second Expert Committee on Mental Health session, mental hygiene was given the following formal definition: "Mental hygiene refers to all the activities and techniques which encourage and maintain mental health." This definition continues to form the basis of contemporary approaches to mental hygiene, though the term is no longer as widely used as it was during the twentieth century.
While the social stigma surrounding mental illness continues in the United States and other developed countries, a growing number of awareness campaigns intended to help sway public perception of mental health issues have emerged over the years. Such campaigns stress that mental illnesses are like any other illness and should be treated as such, and that people afflicted with mental illnesses cannot simply choose to move past the issues affecting them. They have also focused on prevention efforts. The concept of mental hygiene belongs to a family of preventive measures being promoted by mental health agencies to help improve public understanding of mental illness, prevent the onset of avoidable cases, and help reduce suicide rates.
Broad social trends and events have also contributed to increased awareness of the mental hygiene concept. For example, the unprecedentedly widespread social and economic lockdown caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic in 2020 led many to consider the complex impacts on mental health. On a societal level, ways to deal with stress and otherwise maintain good mental hygiene became increasingly mainstream subjects of discussion.
Overview
Mental health professionals stress that there is no sure way to prevent many mental illnesses, and they emphasize that the most effective preventive actions vary from individual to individual. Mental illnesses are linked to many causal factors, including brain chemistry, genetics, exposure to toxins, substance abuse, and even specific social conditions. While some of these factors are not under a person's control, others can be mitigated by maintaining a healthy lifestyle, reducing stress, and avoiding preventable triggers of mental illness.
Basic mental hygiene principles focus on maintaining good overall physical health as a means of supporting natural, healthy brain function. Adequate sleep, proper nutrition, and regular exercise are the fundamental pillars of mental hygiene, and clinicians suggest maintaining a regular sleep schedule to the greatest possible degree. Secondary techniques include limiting alcohol intake and avoiding the use of illicit drugs and the abuse of prescription drugs. Both alcohol and drugs can cause changes in brain chemistry, which can increase the likelihood of developing a mental illness.
At a deeper level, individuals are also encouraged to cultivate active, fulfilling social lives, community connections, and a sense of purpose in life. Social isolation and feelings of purposelessness have long been linked to mood disorders such as major depression, and the prevailing consensus among mental health professionals is that it is important for people to remain as engaged as possible with life to prevent mental illness.
Stress reduction techniques, including meditation and mental retraining, can also be part of an individually tailored mental hygiene program. These are particularly useful for people with high-stress occupations and for those who are predisposed to anxiety. Meditation has been practiced since ancient times, and it involves focused breathing and visualization exercises that are believed to calm the mind. Mental retraining involves the conscious effort to replace stress-inducing, worrisome, or otherwise negative thought patterns with positive alternatives.
Mental health experts also believe it is important for individuals predisposed to mental illness to have regular professional checkups, just as one would with a physician or dentist. Known predispositions include a family history of mental illness and/or a previous personal history with mental illness or related disorders. Professionals can conduct detailed assessments to determine a given individual's risk of developing a mental illness and to determine the possible presence of early warning signs or symptoms. Theoretically, such regular checkups also give predisposed individuals a place to turn for frontline treatment if they believe they are developing symptoms of a mental illness.
Similarly, the principles of mental hygiene encourage those who detect possible warning signs of mental illness to seek the prompt attention of a qualified mental health professional. Examples of such warning signs include sleep disturbances, prolonged periods of sadness or low mood, difficulty concentrating, sluggishness, loss of pleasure in previously enjoyable activities, changes in eating patterns, diminished sex drive, and significant mood swings or personality changes.
Bibliography
Bertolote, Jose. "The Roots of the Concept of Mental Health." World Psychiatry, vol. 7, no. 2, June 2008, pp. 113–116.
Hersh, Julie K. "Mental Hygiene: Preventative Care for Mental Illness." Psychology Today, 28 Feb. 2012, www.psychologytoday.com/blog/struck-living/201202/mental-hygiene-preventative-care-mental-illness. Accessed 18 July 2024.
"How to Improve Mental Health." MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine, 12 Apr. 2024, medlineplus.gov/howtoimprovementalhealth.html. Accessed 18 July 2024.
Kritsotaki, Despo, et al. Preventing Mental Illness: Past, Present and Future. Palgrave Macmillan, 2019.
"Mental Health and COVID-19." World Health Organization, www.who.int/teams/mental-health-and-substance-use/mental-health-and-covid-19. Accessed 18 July 2024.
Moniz, Cynthia, and Stephen Gorin. Health Care Policy and Practice: A Biopsychosocial Perspective. Routledge, 2014.
"Promoting Mental Health." World Health Organization, 2024, www.who.int/westernpacific/activities/promoting-mental-health. Accessed 18 July 2024.
Thayer, Lee. Mental Hygiene: Communication and the Health of the Mind. Xlibris, 2014.
"What Is Mental Health?" SAMHSA, US Dept. of Health and Human Services, 24 Apr. 2023, www.mentalhealth.gov/basics/what-is-mental-health. Accessed 18 July 2024.
White, Ruth C. "Preventing Mental Illness: A Primary Care Approach." Psychology Today, 3 Nov. 2014, www.psychologytoday.com/blog/culture-in-mind/201411/preventing-mental-illness-primary-care-approach-0. Accessed 18 July 2024.
Yongxin, Zhu. Analects of Educational Psychology. McGraw Hill Professional, 2015, pp. 16–30.