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Mental Health And The Mental Aspect Of Health

Satisfactory Essays

The concept of positive health is prominent in modern society, with a strong correlation between maintaining a physically healthy lifestyle, and optimum functioning. But this is not the only component of health that is necessary for full functioning. The World Health Organization (WHO) (2014), state that in fact health is more than the mere absence of disability, as it also includes mental and social well-being. This essay will focus on functioning and disability in relation to the mental aspect of health. Mental health is a state of well-being that allows an individual to be able to work in a productive manner and cope with the stresses of daily life (WHO, 2014). It has two key components; hedonic well-being, which includes happiness and interest in life, and eudaimonic well-being, which is the realization of potential (Ryan & Deci, 2001). With this in mind, the salience of a strong and positive mental health becomes clear. A decrease in the functional capabilities of an individual, in at least one health-related domain, is known as a disability (Cieza, Oberhauser, Bickenbach, Chatterji & Stucki, 2014). Often a disability, whether physical or mental, will have a significant and long-standing effect on functioning (Gov.uk, 2015). This can be measured through the concept of burden, which is the disparity between the individual’s current and ideal health situations (WHO, 2000). The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) (WHO, 2000), is measured using disability-adjusted

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