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Carl Rogers

What is psychological health?

chanman · Aug 28, 2018 · Leave a Comment

I’ve written quite a bit on mental health in the past. Articles like:

  • How can we improve mental health?
  • Try this breathing exercise for stress release and getting rid of cortisol
  • Crush your OCD with this one question
  • Defeating anxiety and stress

But recently, I’ve been wondering about another question. What is psychological health? We hear a lot about what mental illness is but what about its opposite? What does a psychologically healthy person’s mind look like?

Much in the same way as an out-of-shape person has to aim to be an in-shape person, a person struggling with mental health has to know what they’re aiming at for in order to be mentally healthy.

It’s oddly tricky to find a good article about this on the internet. Try searching for ‘what is psychological health?’ and you don’t get much back.

But then I remembered I’d read an introduction to psychology book when I was younger, possibly whilst still at uni. It had a bit in it about what constituted psychological health. I found it after much searching at my Dad’s house.

It’s called Introducing Psychology by Nigel C. Benson and it’s a synopsis of the history of psychology. It’s got some superb diagrams and cartoons all designed to help the layman — ie. me.

In it, there are two theories about what constitutes psychological health:

The first is from Abraham Maslow. According to my edition of Benson’s book, at p.111:

Psychologically ‘healthy’ people show:

  1. An objective perception of reality
  2. Acceptance of their own natures
  3. A commitment and dedication to some type of work
  4. Naturalness, simplicity in behaviour, and spontaneity
  5. Independence; a need for autonomy and privacy
  6. Intense mystical/peak experiences
  7. Empathy with, and affection for, all humanity — including strong social interests
  8. Resistance to conformity
  9. Democratise characteristics
  10. Keenness to be creative

The second is from Carl Rogers. According to my edition of Benson’s book, at p.112:

The psychologically healthy person shows:

  1. An openness to all experiences
  2. An ability to live fully in every moment
  3. The will to follow their own instincts, rather than the will of others
  4. Freedom in thought and action, eg. spontaneity, flexibility
  5. Much creativity

Check out Benson’s great book here.

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