I’M NOT CRAZY – just a little ‘off’!

PREVIOUS: Communication (#6)

POSTs: Principles of Character 1 & 2

SITEs: STARLING: online educational videos, community support, & tools  -to improve mental health
🌱  7  vitamin supplements that improve mental health

 

LEVELS of Mental Health, from highest to lowest functioning :  1.Healthy ——> 2.Neurotic ——> 3.Personality Disordered ——> 4.Sociopathic/Psychopathic ——> 5.Psychotic (deranged)

DEFINITIONS
✦ PERSONALITY: A pattern of relatively permanent traits & unique characteristics that give both consistency & individuality to a person’s behavior.
✦ TRAITS contribute to individual differences in behavior, consistently over time, & across a variety of situations.
✦ CHARACTERISTICS are unique qualities of a person that include temperament, physique & intelligence.

BEFORE looking at the various degrees of psychological disorders, we need a look at what mental health is – to use as a comparison. One way to identify it is :
O.C.E.A.N. traits: Openness to experience, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, & Neuroticism
⬆️ It’s also called the BIG FIVE, (CHART) dimensions of character which represent the main qualities shaping our social interactions. Extensive research shows they have biological origins & are remarkably universal.
One study that looked at people from more than 50 countries found that these 5 traits accurately described personality from Germany to China. (Descriptions). Traits are rated on a scale from strongest  to weakest. (People at the extremes)

Thomas Fuchs (U. of Heidelbergs) : Narrative Identity** is a person’s combined personal past, present & future. Understanding that makes it possible to observe contradictory aspects & tendencies found in oneself & others —> & mentally integrate them into a consistent, inclusive picture about Self or ‘Other”.
**Narrative Identity = forming a sense of oneself from a combination of all life’s experiences into an internalized, evolving story of the Self that provides them with a feeling of unity & purpose

INTERESTING : people with long-term, stable mental health seem to be in the minority.  Several long-term studies – in the US, Switzerland & New Zealand – (covering a 27 yrs, with people ages 11 to 38) found that up to 83% of participants developed mental disorders sometime during those ages.

Re. the continually health people: while having loving, drama-free childhoods helped, these people were (born) naturally up-beat (emotionally not moody), had lots of friends & had superior self-control.
As adults, they reported more education, better jobs, higher-quality relationships & more satisfaction with their lives. Also, in New Zealand, the healthiest Kiwis had fewer first- & second-degree relatives with mental disorders. (More….)

1. HEALTHY  (NORMAL)
• Basically – mental health is about knowing who you are – the very essence of you (not just your damage expressed as self-hate) but rather the person you were born as, called the True Self, found in the Natural Child.
IT IS:
• being comfortable in your own skin, even when things aren’t going well or you’re experiencing great difficulties (More….)
• being curious about yourself, other people & the world, always looking for new ways to grow & stay interested in life
• having access to all emotions (not all at once ):), knowing how to comfort yourself when in any kind of pain, AND being able to enjoy all the good things about yourself & your life

• knowing what your talents are & using them  to your best ability, learning what you don’t know & using all your imagination to express your ideas
• having strong, clear boundaries (not walls) so you can have safe relationships which can be loving, interesting &/or fun

• knowing what your limitations are, based on your natural personality, you experiences & your age. Accepting that you are imperfect & not all-powerful, both as a human being & as your unique self. It’s ACCEPTING this & being OK with it

💕 Healthier people can tolerate a wider, deeper range of emotion, so don’t have a compulsive need for distractions (alcohol, sugar, internet surfing, sex, doing / doing….). Being more honestly self-aware allows them to feel:
😟 the pain of their own human failings, limitations & eventual mortality, and
😍 the beauty of everyday living – precious moments with loved ones, appreciating delicate flowers, a kind word from someone, time spent with a pet or listening to favorite music….
‼as well as the high points, like weddings, births, promotions, personal milestones, artistic accomplishments….(SITE: Children’s Mental Health 2–8)

NEXT: Personality Disorders (Part 2a)