Mental Health

A key point about mental health that is often overlooked is that it is not solely the presence of a mental illness, it is affected by factors of daily life. This includes an individual’s ability to enjoy life, and to create a balance between life activities and efforts to achieve psychological resilience. Mental health is a concept that is been around from early Greek civilizations and pioneering discoveries are continued to be made daily in the advance of methods in psychotherapy and psychopharmacology.

The idea of mental health was not officially recognized until William Sweetser coined the term ‘mental hygiene’ in the post civil war era. Isaac Ray further developed the term and defined it as the art of preserving the mind against all incidents and influences calculated to deteriorate its qualities, impair its energies or derange its movements. This definition is one of the key points in the history of the modern day perception of mental health. However, its roots trace back to ancient Greek, Roman, Indian and Egyptian civilizations that recognized cases of mental imbalance but focussed on demonic possession as the course. Many of whom that were affected by such episodes of mania as a result of psychosis were also grouped under those with seizure disorders and thus resulted in the mis treatment of individuals facing epilepsy and mental health disorders. Thus it was tough to receive treatment and care for several hundred years until discoveries were made in the mid 19th century. 

Following the 19th century and the coining of the term “mental hygiene”, many still feared of such disorders being acts of the devil and possessing these individuals. It was not until the end of the 19th century when several European neurologists began investigating the causes of mental illness, Sigmund Freud was a key player in changing the perception and understanding of a mental illness. Freud brought great advances through his extensive research in methods of therapy and treatment, he introduced the concepts of the unconscious and the ego to modern thought and reintroduced the ancient concept of the interpretation of dreams. Freud was a pioneer in the field of psychoanalysis and introducing new methods such as talk therapy, a method still widely used today for the treatment of mental health disorders. His legacy stands with his revolutionary discoveries in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. Freud practiced in Vienna until 1938 following the Nazi occupation of Austria and died in exile in the United Kingdom one year later. Furthermore, the development of modern medicine in the 20th century resulted in the advance of psychiatry and the discovery of medications that helped to alleviate depression, mania and psychosis. Many of these discoveries were a result of the effect of the levels of neurotransmitters, norepinephrine and serotonin on an individual’s happiness or feelings. By increasing these levels it appeared to help depressed patients, similarly medicines that blocked the transmission of dopamine provided relief to those experiencing hallucinations and paranoia. Thus, the 19th and early 20th century was a fundamental era in the development of psychopharmacology and various forms of psychotherapy.

Mental health continues to affect the lives of millions each year, more institutions are making mental health more accessible to those in need. However, the stigma surrounding seeking help for mental health disorders still exists and is preventing many from seeking help. Suicides represents a similar percentage of teenage deaths in the US compared to opioids however, there is an absence of suicide prevention centres in public locations, this is due to the stigma surrounding seeking help. One of the main reasons that I took an interest in mental health is due to the number of people afraid to seek help. Awareness needs to be brought to ensure that more people are aware that mental health disorders is not just a mere alteration in one’s personality or one feeling sad; it is the imbalance of chemicals in the brain and the effect of genetics on the likelihood of someone being affected by a mental illness. However, several more factors do play a role in invoking such states and act as catalysts in the process, these include environmental conditions, medical conditions and injuries, neuropathology, and more.

Thus, to summarize; mental health is an early concept which has seen prevalence in the 19th century from the works of Freud, Ray, Sweetser and many others who are the pioneers of psychiatry and psychology and have defined the meaning of mental health to the world. Mental health continues to play an important role in social media as well as the community with large movements such as Bell Let’sTalk and youth initiatives in Toronto and the GTA with Game Changers from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health as well as The New Mentality from Children’s Mental Health Ontario. For more information about mental illnesses navigate to the individual pages.