How will I know when I’m healthy?
In the realm of mental health, the traditional question of "What's wrong with me?" often dominates our thoughts and conversations. After all, people don’t usually seek therapy when they’re doing well. Most practices don’t offer a “psychological check-up” just to see how things are going outside of a crisis.
That’s why it’s important to shift the narrative towards a more empowering question: "What would good mental health look like?" It’s not enough to just ask how to get rid of troubling symptoms. We also need to have a vision for what life would look like if you were thriving.
Understanding Positive Psychology
Positive psychology, a field pioneered by psychologists such as Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, represents a paradigm shift in psychology. It emerged as a response to the traditional focus on pathology and dysfunction, aiming to explore and promote factors that contribute to flourishing and thriving. It’s asking exactly the kind of question we’re after.
At its core, positive psychology emphasizes strengths, resilience, and the pursuit of optimal well-being. It acknowledges that mental health is not solely defined by the absence of illness but encompasses a spectrum of positive qualities, experiences, and states of mind that lead to a fulfilling life.
When you’re just trying to survive and manage crippling mental health symptoms, you might have a difficult time even figuring out what health could be. “Health” is not the same for every person, it’s not a cooker cutter destination. However, when I work with people and I see them making progress, I do notice some themes. Let’s explore some of those themes to spark your imagination for what a different life could look like.
The Markers of Psychological Health
Creativity and Imagination: Embracing creativity and imagination is a hallmark of psychological health. This involves tapping into your creative potential, exploring new ideas, expressing yourself authentically, and finding joy in the process of creation. It might looks like engage in writing, art, or music, but that doesn’t have to ever be your thing. Creativity also gets involved when you can suddenly imagine new ways of thinking, new solutions, or a different life. It’s part of what we’re doing right now in this blog post as we imagine what health could look like.
Compassion (Self and Others): Psychological health involves nurturing a sense of compassion towards oneself and others. This includes being kind and understanding towards your own struggles and imperfections, as well as extending empathy and support to those around you. There is so much research about the benefits of self compassion and I can say from first hand experience, as soon as we hit the point in treatment where a client is able to see an area they struggle with or a mistake they’ve made and respond to it with kindness/compassion, progress really accelerates.
Curiosity: Cultivating curiosity is essential for psychological well-being. It involves a sense of wonder, a thirst for knowledge and understanding, and a willingness to explore new experiences and perspectives. In therapy, when a person sees something about themselves they’re ashamed of and they begin to respond with curiosity instead of judgment, it opens up so many doors for self understanding and compassion.
Playfulness: Play allows for creativity, social connection, and stress relief, contributing to overall well-being. When you’re in a constant trauma state, weighed down by depression, or consumed with anxiety, your body isn’t biologically in a state where it can tap into the sense of safety and presence needed to be playful. Infusing playfulness into life promotes psychological health by fostering a sense of joy, spontaneity, and lightheartedness.
Clarity: Clarity of thought and emotion is a key marker of psychological health. This includes having a clear sense of identity, values, goals, and priorities, as well as being able to navigate challenges and make informed decisions. It cuts through the confusion of negative emotion, anxiety, and false self.
Connection with Self and Others: Humans are wired to be relational. Strong connections with oneself and meaningful relationships with others are fundamental to psychological well-being. Having secure attachment can regulate our nervous system, has physical health benefits, and can even make us more courageous. Connection promotes self-awareness, self-acceptance, social support, healthy boundaries, and effective communication.
Courage: It takes a lot of courage to face mental health challenges. The mantra of most mental health dysfunction is an urge to avoid in some way. Healing and living into health often requires living a life that confronts fear, anxiety, and uncertainty. No one is 100% courageous all the time, but as we continue to grow, courage will show up more and more.
Community: Social support and community provide massive benefits to mental and physical health. Many people are exposed to traumas in their lifetime, but only a certain percentage of those people go on to form a trauma disorder. One of the key factors that protects against negative mental health outcomes is social support and community. Having a sense of community connects people to something bigger than themselves and provides resources and meaning to life. Community can look different for each person, and one of the beautiful things to see as people heal is the way they begin to connect with others.
“What would good mental health look like?”
Conclusion
Mental health is a lot like physical health —- it doesn’t look identical for any two people. It’s not a destination that’s achieved. It’s an ongoing journey that we continue to walk our whole lives.
Not having one of the markers of mental health discussed in this post isn’t a sign that there’s something wrong with you or that you’re broken. When we are in survival mode, the healthiest, best thing we can do in that step of our journey is continue to survive and get the help we need. But as you read these themes of mental health, if you’re in a place where it’s helpful, allow yourself to imagine a life where you have those things. What would be different? How would you live?
If you're ready to shift your focus towards what good mental health looks like and explore these markers of psychological health, any of the therapists at Liminal Psychology would be honored to walk with you on that journey.