Mental health
The term mental health refers to psychological well-being, which includes how we feel about ourselves, the quality of our relationships with others, and our ability to cope with difficulties. Good mental health is much more than simply the absence of illness or problems and includes:
● feelings of satisfaction, laughter and enjoyment
● experiencing both pleasant and unpleasant emotions and using strategies to manage them
● the ability to cope with stress and recover from difficulties
● a sense of meaning and purpose in activities and relationships
● flexibility in learning new things and adapting to change
● a balance between work and leisure, rest and activity
● confidence.
Taking care of mental health involves all the steps we take towards leading a fulfilling life, including engaging in meaningful activities and building healthy relationships. Noticing and accepting your feelings, and choosing to act according to your values, play an important role in this. Changes, disappointments and losses are an integral part of life, and they inevitably bring feelings of sadness, anxiety, stress and tension. By working on ourselves, we build psychological resilience, which means we can recover from difficulties, traumas and stresses. Effective coping strategies will differ for everyone, and the goal is to find the strategies and tools that work best for us.
Sometimes problems are too great or too difficult for a person to solve alone with their existing coping methods. Sometimes there are simply too many problems, so a person cannot overcome them all, or they become too much of a burden at that moment. In these situations, it is necessary to seek support. Sometimes support from family and friends, through conversation and advice, is enough, but sometimes it may feel as though nothing helps. This is a sign that usual ways of coping are not sufficient and that professional psychological help is needed.
If you are a student, you can seek professional psychological help at the Psychological Counselling service of the University Counselling Centre. You can also find other services among our links, but this list is not comprehensive. Our advice is: ask, search – there are always solutions; you just have to reach for them. Where there is a will, there is a way!