Editorial

Send your ideas, thoughts and feelings to LetsConnect Heather Haworth. Women’s Ministries Department. British Union Conference of the Seventh Day Adventist Church.  Stanborough Park. Watford. Hertfordshire. WD25 9JZ. United Kingdom. email contact:-   Letsconnect For past editions follow this link

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Have you ever had a day when you feel down? For some this down-day feeling can last for a week or a month or for years. Did you know men are more than 3 times likely to succeed in committing suicide? Perhaps you have panicked before speaking to someone or taking a test. If so you will sympathize with those whose panic attacks are on a regular basis. You see we all have mental health challenges, for some they last longer and it stops them enjoying positive mental health. At the Mental Health First Aid course I recently went on one thing became apparent. It is those that have friends and family positively supporting them that would be the ones returning to good health.  

Seeing we all, at one time or another, have faced times of mentally being under the weather this months edition of Letsconnect is very practical. We have a number of contributors whose valuable insights have been collated together by Sharon Platt-McDonald. Other articles are found on the Seventh-day Adventist church website www.adventist.org.uk. Click on Departments and then Health to find the Mental Wellness Handbook..

 Enjoy the sunshine and let it cheer you up. Enjoy this Letsconnect and learn how to develop a long lasting cheerful aspect on life.

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A STRONG WOMAN (or man) VERSUS A WOMAN (or man) OF STRENGTH

A strong woman works out every day to keep her body in shape... but a woman of strength kneels in prayer to keep her soul in shape...

 A strong woman isn’t afraid of anything... but a woman of strength shows courage in the midst of her fear...

 A strong woman won’t let anyone get the best of her... but a woman of strength gives the best of herself to everyone...

 A strong woman wears the look of confidence on her face... but a woman of strength wears grace...

 A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey... but a woman of strength has faith that it is in the journey that she will become strong...

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EMOTIONAL EDUCATION    by Karen Jordan- Nicholls Systemic Psychology    We  need  Emotional  Education  to  understand  the  impact  of  unresolved  negative emotions  on our life.   When people acquire emotional education skills, tools and knowledge about unresolved negative emotions they will have access to spiritual,  physical and emotional optimal health and well-being.  Emotional Education is the term  we  use  to  describe  the  learning  process  which  encompasses  emotional  literacy  and emotional intelligence. An emotion is a mental and physiological state associated with a wide variety of feelings, thoughts, and  behaviour.   Emotions are subjective experiences, or experienced from an individual point of view.    Emotion  is often associated with mood, temperament, personality, and disposition.   The English  word  'emotion'  is  derived  from  the  French  word  émouvoir.  This  is  based  on  the  Latin emovere,  where  e-  (variant  of  ex-)  means  'out'  and  movere  means  'move'.  The  related  term "motivation" is also derived from movere.” (Wikipedia)      Unresolved Negative Emotions   To acquire optimal health and well  being, negative emotions must be  resolved. Unresolved negative emotions come about when conflicts with another person, or a situation from our past, have not been resolved or released.  The body holds on to the life force energy (emotional charge) created at the time the conflict took place. The unresolved negative emotion creates an imbalance in our hormones.  As a result the body becomes toxic.  The toxicity in the body depletes our immune system.  The immune system is the body’s defence against infectious organisms and other invaders.   It is our defender  and fighter protecting our body from the common cold to cancer.   It is the job of the immune system to regulate our hormones to rid our body of toxicity.    When we have unresolved negative emotions the immune system is in constant battle attempting to restore our optimal health and well-being.  This battle reduces the capabilities of the immune system and reduces our defence mechanism leaving us susceptible to dis-ease.  Conflict is  the  root  cause  of  all  unresolved negative  emotions.     Many  people have  unresolved negative emotions but are totally unaware of this fact.  I have yet to meet a person who does not have an unresolved negative emotion.  “It is estimated that 90 percent of all physical problems have psychological roots” Prevention Health Magazine, Emrika Padum  “Only those who yield control of their minds to God can in the full sense of the word have a sound mind and enjoy true and complete mental and emotional stability”. The SDA Commentary Vol.5, Pg575   "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all you strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself" (Luke 10:27)  We are instructed to commit our whole self to God and humankind in love by embracing God’s commandments and the fruits of the spirit. When we live in harmony with body, mind and spirit, we encompass the peace of mind that surpasses all understanding and are able to love and be loved as we were created to be.  We must focus our minds on the things of the Spirit and have thoughts and desires governed solely by God.  When we hold on to conflicts of the past that evolve from fear, anger, loneliness, sadness and anxiety,  we become disconnected from God and we no longer retain the holistic balance of life required by a human being to have optimal health and abundant living.   More often than not we believe that we have dealt with the conflict and we tell ourselves that we will forget about it or we say to ourselves “I will forgive but I will never forget”. Both of these actions impact  negatively on our emotional well-being and optimal health because the person you are hurting is yourself.   We fool ourselves because the negative emotion remains buried within us and comes alive when  we least expect, in the form of anger, fear, jealously, anxiety and many, many more negative self destructive behaviours which eat away at our very soul.  Furthermore the truth of the matter is that feelings buried alive NEVER die. They need to be resolved and released.    As a Magistrate I often have the same defendant come before me, (who is known as a persistent youth  offender, (PYO)).   This PYO has been convicted for committing a long list of offences, the majority of  which  are of a similar nature.   Furthermore, there are mums, dads, brothers, sisters, uncles, all from the same family who also persistently offend.  What we see are patterns of negative behaviour being passed down from adult to child.  My hypothesis is that a major contributing factor to this self and family-destruction is that the conflict, which created the unresolved negative emotion that triggers the negative and offending behaviour, has never been resolved.  Commentators have said that what was once speculation has now been firmly established as fact.   A healthy body cannot be divorced from a healthy mind or a healthy spirit.  “ Emotional health, it can be said with certainty, is an integral part of our overall wellness.  Yet many people continue to neglect their emotional health and damage their physical health in the process”. E.G.White, Ministry of Healing.  The relationship between stress and disease is clearly taught in the Bible. This relationship has been substantiated by medical science.  British cardiologist Peter Nixon, explains that increased stress and arousal cause numerous changes in  the  body  functioning, that  eventually interfere  with  immune  function, protein synthesis and cardiac functions.   Repetitive stress also uses up the body’s reserves, leading to increased stress on other physiological functions.  This in turn can result in heart disease, cancer or depressions.       Stress and Unresolved Negative Emotions  Stress caused by unresolved emotions is a pre-requisite and a leading contributor to dis-ease. When the stressful situation remains unresolved it can have a negative impact on your behaviour and your health.   Stress is destructive:-  •   when its intensity or duration exceeds a person’s capacity to react constructively. •   Any power, force or experience that touches our lives physically, mentally, or spiritually, against which we must react in order to maintain balance in our lives is STRESS.  The condition of the mind affects the health to a far greater degree than many realize. Many of the diseases from which men suffer are the result of mental depression. E.G. White Ministry of Healing, Pg 241.         Toxic Unresolved Negative Emotions  Certain emotions poison the body. Dr. Cannon, of Harvard University, has shown that hate, envy, scorn,  jealousy, and  fear  actually create  poisons, not  psychological poisons,  but  powerful toxic substances, which poison the life stream - the blood, and under their influence, the body weakens and all the life processes are disturbed.  A person, who lives under fear, or under the shadow of any depressing emotion, seems to shrivel up.  He grows old prematurely.  He further added Worry kills a hundred people where work kills one!    Unresolved negative emotions contribute to an imbalance in our hormones which create toxicity in our body.   This toxicity causes our immune system to become depleted.  Hormones stimulate and increase activity,  while colyones impede and reduce activity.  Both substances are necessary for a well-balanced mind and body.  Dr. Christiane Northrup coined the term “toxic emotion”.   In Women's Bodies, Women’s Wisdom (Bantam,  1994), she writes, “A thought held long enough and repeated often enough becomes a belief.”  That belief then becomes a biology in which emotional stress causes our adrenal glands to produce corticosteroids - hormones that weaken our immune systems.    “Grief, anxiety, discontent, remorse, guilt, and distrust all tend to break down the life forces and invite decay and death. Courage, hope, faith, sympathy, and love promote health and prolong life. A contented mind, a cheerful spirit, is health to the body and strength to the soul" E G White Ministry of Healing (Pg 97).    There are times that we may feel upset and angry and not know why, we feel like a task is easy one day and difficult the next, we feel that no one understands us and we don’t understand ourselves or we may suffer  from insomnia for nights at a time.   If this is true for you – you may have an unresolved negative emotion.  “The relationship that exists between the mind and body is very intimate.   When one is affected the other sympathizes.” E. G. White, Ministry of Healing (Pg 241) Although many people put a great emphasis on the body, the mind is of equal and I say more importance than the body as before the body acts it requires communication from the mind.  When Adam and Eve chose to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil they thought about it first. Eve thought about how good it would be to become wise then she proceeded to act.  When God inquired as to Adam’s whereabouts, he attempted to hide from God.   Adam was frightened because he felt guilty.   He then  proceeded to accuse Eve of giving him the fruit.   Eve then accused the serpent.  The fear and guilt that Adam felt was the first conflict to be experienced by man as a result of an unresolved negative emotion but the second to be described in the Bible.       Conflict, the Root of ALL Unresolved Negative Emotions    “Lucifer was the first to experience an unresolved negative emotion. When discontent entered his heart he sought to instigate conflict in Heaven when he envied God’s position, challenged His authority and tried to turn the angels against God.”  The Bible says “There was War in Heaven” (Revelations 12:7).  War is the result of conflict.  Today we see evidence of conflict and wars existing here on earth. We see global war, civil war, the internal war that man has with himself because of his inability to identify, resolve and release the conflict and the external war that man experiences as he projects on to others the unresolved anger, fear and resentment that festers within him  as a result of Satan’s unresolved negative emotion and the conflict he created.   Lucifer was the most powerful of the fallen angels but he opposed God.  God gave Lucifer a certain amount of power and authority but Satan perverted that power.  Satan attempted to exalt himself above God... rather than "just" being the Angel of God.  “He aspired to be like God in position, power and glory, but not in character.  Satan’s adversary to God was the birth of sin.  A created being, he sought honour and glory due alone to the Creator.” SDA Commentary Vol 4, Pg 171.  “Instead of seeking to make God supreme in the affections of the angelic host, he sought for himself first place in those affections.”  SDA Commentary Vol 4, Pg 171 (Isaiah 14 v12-14.)  Satan wanted to be God but God said “NO!” and expelled Satan and his angels from Heaven. Satan led one third of the heavenly angels astray in a misguided attempt to overthrow God's authority.  He was defeated by God, but he turned his focus on the people of this world, especially on God’s chosen people, you and me.   Satan experienced an internal conflict and gave way in his heart to negative emotions such as  self-centeredness, vanity, greed, lust, envy, jealousy, strife, hatred, competition, violence and destruction and became deceptive.  Today many people see and experience firsthand the backlash of unresolved negative emotions which are the manifestation of a conflict within their own family, where there is a break down in  the parental relationship.   Children who sometimes blame themselves and are tormented as they are led astray by a parent often a mother who subjects them to the deep, embedded bitterness she holds towards the father as a result of being left as a lone parent to raise the children by herself. The children become resentful of the father and take the side of the mother and themselves develop a resentment, anger even hatred and the circle goes on and on as they form similar dysfunctional relationships in their adulthood with  similar patterns of behaviour.    Equally many people hold on to the past.  They are stuck in the what could have been, what should have been and the ‘if only’ syndrome.  They repeat the same old story time and time again.  “When I was … everything was great… and if only it had worked out for me…, do you know who I would have been…” They hold on to their story for dear life, like a dog with a bone and time passes  in the form of years, 5 years, 10 years, 20 years and yes 30 years and they still have not moved on. Is this YOU?  Do you recognize yourself?  They blame parents, family members they even blame God!  But never themselves! They take no responsibility and they fail to recognise that in most cases where they are in their life is the result of their choice not to resolve and release the conflict within them.  Satan failed to recognize that he chose to become angry and bitter in response to what God wanted  for him.   Satan had a choice to resolve his conflict by recognizing that he could never be God.  Had he done so he would have felt joy and love for the Lord God Almighty and for himself.  Satan began to interfere with the relationship between God and the first humans Adam and Eve. This is  when Satan used the serpent as a medium to question Eve by cleverly mixing truth with falsehood.   “Ye  shall not surely die?”(Gen. 3: 4) Satan challenged the truthfulness of God’s Word with an unconcealed lie  (John 8:44).   Today, Satan attempts to lead earthly people astray as he roams the earth.  He covers people with his cloak of unresolved negative emotions by overwhelming them with spiritual, emotional, physical, financial, social, birth family and church family conflict.  Fathers and mothers who have experienced conflict in their childhood and have an unresolved negative emotion may as adults lead their family astray and down a path which leads to abuse, drugs and crime etc., in the same way Satan lead the angels, Adam and Eve astray.  Today we call these families dysfunctional.  Recently in the news, Shannon Matthews and Baby P were reported as coming from dysfunctional families.  (Please see link below)  http://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/default.asp?pageRef=298  Similarly we see mothers and fathers’ negative behaviour towards their children and towards each other  because of their unresolved negative emotions which were created in childhood through, emotional,  physical and sexual abuse.   We see this in the form of alcoholism, drug addiction, and criminal activity to  finance their self-destruction.   We see people locked away in this cage of self destructive behaviour most  of  which is self inflicted.   This is why we must identify, resolve and release our negative emotions.  Conflict is the root of ALL unresolved negative emotions.  It is said that Character is all we take with us when we leave this earth.   It is also said that Character is made up of feelings, thoughts and emotions. We cannot embrace the Character of God when we have an  ‘unresolved negative emotion’, the disparity between them is far too great, and they are complete  opposites.    We therefore need to identify, resolve and release all of our ‘unresolved negative emotions’ before we can embrace the Character of God and have eternal life.  Failure to do so will result in spiritual and physical death.     How to Resolve a Negative Emotion   The Bible has several references to mind (thought and emotion) and body connections such as,  "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine."      Proverbs 17:22 and “As a man thinketh in his heart so he is.”   Proverbs 23:7.   These scriptures tell us that we must keep joy in our heart and choose the thoughts we hold on to as they are a major influencing factor on our optimal health and well-being.  So therefore with this knowledge we must choose to take  hold  of  the  fruits  of  the  spirit,  love,  joy,  peace,  patience,  kindness, goodness,  faithfulness,  humility  and  self-control  so  that  we  will  enjoy  in abundance all that life has to offer. Positive emotions enhance the activity of all the bodily functions.  Under the influence of joy, the small  arteries and capillaries dilate, and every organ receives an increased and more active blood supply.  There is not only an increased disposition to activity, but an increased capacity for effort and endurance.   The heart  beats stronger, the mind is more alert, and breathing is deeper, digestion more active, the eyes brighten;  the glow of health is in the vibrancy of the skin.  The whole body rejoices and prospers under the influence of cheerful and joyous emotions.    We should learn to use our emotions to help us decide how we should act and not act on our emotions.    If you are feeling anger towards a particular person, first acknowledge this negative emotion and use  your  awareness of it to make a decision that it is not a good time to have a conversation with this  individual as you may say something you later regret.   When you make a conscious decision not to speak  to someone because you feel anger towards them, you are using your emotions intelligently to choose your behaviour.  The result is that you make a wise decision by not allowing your emotions to control or influence your thoughts negatively.  We must remember that It is important to validate our emotions and equally important to question our thinking.     Emotional Education for Children    We need to be aware of the messages we send to our children.  We have to be  conscious of the emotional education we give to our children.  We are our children’s first teacher in the formative years. We should:-Encourage our children to share their feelings with us and  not teach them to shut off or close down their emotions. Teach our children to acknowledge their unresolved negative emotions and  not deny their feelings (bury them). Talk to our children with respect and  not say “Go away and leave me alone.” Be gentle and support children and  not say “Don’t worry about it, it will sort itself out.” Encourage our children to speak to us and  not say “Children are to be seen and not heard.”   Remind them that they are young and that there is no pressure on them and  not say “Grow up you’re not a baby.”  If  they  are  crying take  time to  talk  about what’s happening and  not  say  “I’ll  give you something to cry about.”      Positive comments lift the spirit, build confidence and set a good solid foundation for life. Negative comments crush the spirit, deplete confidence and create a lack of self-esteem also for life.  Emotional education should take place throughout the life of a child in order for our children to experience emotional, physical and spiritual optimal health and well-being in their life.   The Five Components of Good Emotional Health   Good Emotional health consists of five key components:  1.   Being aware of your emotions.  Emotionally healthy people are in touch with their emotions and can identify and acknowledge them as experience. 2.   Being  able  to  process  your  emotions. After  connecting  with  their  emotions, emotionally healthy people develop appropriate ways of expressing them. 3.   Being  sensitive  to  other  people  and  their  emotions  and  having  the  ability  to empathize.   The ability to identify their own emotions enables emotionally healthy people to identify emotions in others and to have an intuitive sense of what it feels like to experience them. 4.   Being self-empowered.   Emotionally healthy people honour their emotions, which empowers them to fulfil their goals. 5.   Being  in  healthy  relationships.    Using  their  emotional intelligence  and  empathy, emotionally healthy people build and maintain strong, functioning relationships.  Thinking  is  not  confined  to  the  brain.      The  whole  body  participates.  Agreeable thoughts  and  pleasant  emotions  induce  bodily  conditions  which  favour  health, efficiency, physical and mental optimal health and well-being.  Ellen White wrote, "True education includes the whole being.  It enables us to make the best use of brain, bone, muscle, body, mind, and heart." Ministry of Healing  (p. 168).     Freedom From Unresolved Negative Emotions   7 Steps to Freedom   1.    Freedom Through Acknowledgement – Psa. 32:5; 51:1-13   2.     Freedom By Beholding Jesus Christ – 2Corinthians 3:18; 1Corinthians   1-13 3.     Freedom Through Prayer – Phi. 4:6,7; James 4:8; Luke 18:1; Psa. 61:1,2; 66:18 4.     Freedom Through the Word – John 8:31,32; 2Corinthians 3:17; 1Peter 1:3,4; Psa.119:11 5.     Freedom Through Forgiveness – 1John.1:9; Col. 3:13; Mk. 11:25; Prov. 19;11; Mat.18:27 6.     Freedom Through Serving Others – Phil. 2:7; Gal. 5:13; Matthew 20:24-28; Rev. 7:3 7.     Freedom Through Correct Lifestyle Habits – 1Cor. 6:18,19; 10:31; 9:25-27; Rom .12:1,2   From Dr T Jackson - http://www.meetministry.org  As human beings, both adults and young people need a balanced lifestyle.  To achieve this we must embrace emotional, spiritual and physical holistic healing to acquire optimal health and well being.  Roy and I have come to understand and appreciate that adults and young people are challenged when it comes to managing their emotions effectively.  They are not able to identify or resolve their negative emotions and very few people question their stressful thoughts.      Holistic Emotional Lifestyle Programme (H.E.L.P.! TM)  As  a  result  Roy  and  I  have  put  together  a  programme  called  the  Holistic  Emotional  Lifestyle Programme H.E.L.P.! TM  H.E.L.P.! TM incorporates emotional, spiritual and physical healing which results in a manageable transitional lifestyle change that incorporates the eight natural laws of health and a “Change 4 Life”, the government directive for a healthier life for everyone.  H.E.L.P.! TM comes in different forms to support adults and young people to resolve the core unresolved  negative  emotions  that  influence  their  life.    We  will  use  H.E.L.P.!  TM  to  facilitate individuals through a seven stage holistic process.  In addition adults and young people will learn to question their thinking. This process will teach adults and young people to recognise that we all have choices. When we question our thinking we come to understand and appreciate that we have access to an abundance of options and solutions that we were unaware of prior to questioning our thoughts.  H.E.L.P.! TM is being targeted at both young people between 14-18 years old and adults.  We are presently  in discussions with the view to agreeing the date for the young people’s pilot.   We also intend to run a two day H.E.L.P.!TM programme for adults.  Each participant takes away with them a transitional personalized Lifestyle Plan that will benefit all the family.  In the meantime Roy and I continue to do our work in the classroom and the community as we teach and share H.E.L.P.! TM with the Love and Grace of God.   Blessings. Karen Jordan-Nicholls.   References   The Bible KJV Ministry of Healing E. G. White The SDA Commentary Vol.5 pg.575 Prevention Health Magazine  Emrika Padum Revised Edition of Alive’s Encyclopaedia of Natural Healing, Daniel Goleman Emotional Intelligence (Bantam, 1995), In Women's Bodies, Women’s Wisdom (Bantam, 1994) A Clinical Guide to the Treatment of the Human Stress Response By George S. Everly, Jeffrey M. Lating (Don’t Worry - An Excerpt from How To Have Good Health Through Biologic Living, Page 228.) http://www.meetministry.org/ Thomas Jackson, Ph.D, CHE Director/Co-Founder M.E.E.T. Ministry LaVerne Jackson, Ph.D, NC Assist. Director/Co-Founder M.E.E.T. Ministry http://www.alive.com

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UNDERSTANDING MENTAL HEALTH     By Elsie Staple SEC Health Ministries Directo “There is no health without mental health.”   This chapter/section will identify the components of health, attempt to define mental health, identify  the determinants of mental health and then consider some of the mental health conditions which can promote mental wellbeing including the self system.   ‘I wish above all that thou prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospereth.’ (3 John 2)   Is God’s ideal for mankind.   However in this sin polluted environment disease is inevitable.  We are aware that degeneration can be swift and rapid.  So how can one prosper and be in health?  Let us first consider the question “What is health?”  It is important to note that health is holistic and consists of many components.  These are physical, emotional, spiritual, mental, sexual, environmental, and societal.   These strands are closely related and  deeply  interconnected.   Therefore ill health in one facet can have repercussions in another aspect of one’s health.              Mental Health Defined  Mental health is not mental illness! Mental health is not an absence of a mental disorder! When one considers the term ‘mental’ it often has a negative connotation.  We frequently hear the phrase “You are mental!” but we are all mental beings with mental needs. Therefore, what is mental health?  Mental health is not easy to define because values differ across cultures as well   as   among   subgroups   (and   indeed   individuals)   within   a   culture. Therefore, what it means to be mentally healthy is subject to many different interpretations which  are rooted in value judgments that may vary across cultures.  Mental  health  is  a  concept  that  refers  to  a  human  individual's emotional and psychological well-being.  It is the balance between all aspects of life - social, physical, spiritual and emotional.   It impacts on how we manage our surroundings, make choices in our lives - and is an integral part of our overall health.  Webster’s dictionary defines mental health as "A state of emotional and psychological well- being in  which an individual is able to use his or her cognitive and emotional capabilities, function in society, and meet the ordinary demands of everyday life."  Mental health is a state of well-being in which the individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. (World Health Organization 2006)    •   Mental health is  the successful  performance of  mental function, resulting in  productive activities,  fulfilling relationships with other people and the ability to adapt to change and cope with adversity from early childhood until late life.  Mental health is the springboard of thinking and communications skills, learning, emotional growth, resilience and self-esteem.   Mental health is the emotional and spiritual resilience which enables enjoyment of life and the ability to survive pain, disappointment and sadness; and as a positive sense of wellbeing and an underlying belief in our own and other’s dignity and worth. (Department of Health 2001a)   However mental health can be described in a variety of different but complementary ways. The terminology includes:   •         Psychological wellbeing •         Psychosocial health •         Psychosocial wellbeing •         Wellness •         Wellbeing •         Positive mental health •         Emotional health      The Determinants of Mental Health Promotion  According to MacDonald and O’Hara (1998) model there are 10 elements of mental health. These determinants range from individual to environmental factors and which pairs protective and risk factors to inform and design appropriate interventions. The determinants are:   Mental Health Promotion   Mental health promotion involves actions that create living conditions and environments to support mental  health and allow people to adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles.  This includes a range of actions that increase the chances of more people experiencing better mental health.   Mental health promotion works from the principle that everyone has mental health needs, not just people who have been diagnosed with a mental illness.   Mental health promotion is essentially concerned with making changes to society that will promote people's mental wellbeing.   Mental health promotion is a term that covers a variety of strategies.  These strategies can be seen to occur at three levels:   •   Individual (micro) - encouragement of individual resources by promotion of interventions for self-esteem, coping, assertiveness in areas such as parenting, the workplace or personal relationships.   •   Communities  (meso)  -   increasing  social  inclusion   and  cohesion,  developing  support structures  that  promote mental  health  in  workplaces,            schools, churches   and neighbourhoods.   •   Government (macro) reduces socioeconomic barriers to mental health at governmental level by promoting equal access for all and support for vulnerable citizens.       Positive Mental Wellbeing   Positive mental wellbeing includes:  A positive view of self: self awareness, self esteem, self acceptance. Personal growth and development: developing talents and abilities to their full potential. Autonomy: being capable of independent action. Accurate view of reality: not distorting the world in any way. Positive friendships: the ability to build relationships of many varieties Environmental mastery: meeting the requirements of the many different situations encountered in everyday life.          Characteristics of Mental Health   The Ability to Enjoy Life - The ability to enjoy life is essential to good mental health. The practice of mindfulness meditation is one way to cultivate the ability to enjoy the present.  We, of course, need to plan  for  the future at times and we also need to learn from the past.  Too  often we make ourselves miserable in the present by worrying about the future. We need to play and have fun.   Resilience - The ability to bounce back from adversity has been referred to as "resilience."   The ability to  face problems, resolve them and learn from them. It has long been known that some people handle stress better than others.  Balance - Balance in life seems to result in greater mental health.  It creates an awareness of how the mind and body interact.  Just as our state of mental health can affect our physical health, the reverse is also true.   We all need to balance time spent socially with time spent alone, for example the use and enjoyment of  solitude.   Those who spend all of their time alone may get labelled as "loners" and they may lose many of their social skills.  Extreme social isolation may even result in a split with reality.  Those who ignore the need for some solitary times also risk such a split.  Balancing these two needs seems to be the key – although we all balance these differently.  Other areas where balance seems to be important include the balance between  work and play, the balance between sleep and wakefulness, the balance between rest and exercise and even the balance between time spent indoors and time spent outdoors.   Flexibility - We all know people who hold very rigid opinions.  No amount of discussion can change their views. Such people often set themselves up for added stress by the rigid expectations that they hold.  Working on making our expectations more flexible can improve our mental health.  Emotional flexibility may be just as  important as cognitive flexibility.  Mentally healthy people experience a range of emotions and allow themselves to express these feelings.  They are aware of what can go wrong.  They have the ability to laugh both at themselves and at the world.  Some people shut off certain feelings, finding them to be unacceptable.  This emotional rigidity may result in other mental health problems.    Self-actualization - What have we made of the gifts that we have been given?  We all know people who have surpassed their potential and others who seem to have squandered their gifts.  We first need to recognize our gifts, of course and the process of recognition is part of the path toward self- actualization.   Mentally healthy people spend time reviewing their lives from time to time.   They consider what their  goals  in life are and what steps are being taken to achieve them.  Mentally healthy persons are persons  who are in the process of actualizing their potential.   They develop emotionally, creatively, intellectually and spiritually.  Problems can arise when we feel that life is not satisfying and fulfilling.  Healthy Relationships - The ability to form healthy relationships with others is necessary for mental wellbeing.   Social contact, having contact with others whose company we enjoy, whether at school, work, at home or  as  a member of a club, helps to develop social interaction.   It aids initiation, development and sustains mutually satisfying personal relationships.  This affects how we feel about other people.   It engenders  awareness and the capacity to empathise with them. It aids in the development of confidence and assertiveness and encourages healthy sexuality.  It is important to have someone to go to with our problems and worries, such as friends, teachers or family members - someone we can trust.      Preventative Tips for Positive Mental Health   ·        making time to do the things we enjoy ·        taking moderate physical exercise ·        cutting down on coffee, alcohol, nicotine and other addictive substances ·        remembering and celebrating the things we like about ourselves ·        keeping things in perspective ·        developing and sustaining friendships ·        listening to and respecting other people, even if we disagree with them ·        asking for help if we feel distressed or upset ·        listening to other people who say they feel distressed or upset ·        taking as much care of ourselves as we do the people we care for       The Self System  It is imperative for mental health to appreciate who you are and be honest with yourself. What are you really like?  Are you both beauty and beast or wonderful and terrible?  What are your strengths and limitations?  The self system is made up of words which refer to attributes of the way we think, view and the value we place on ourselves. These are:  Self-image, self-concept, self-perception - all refer to the overall picture a person has of him or herself  Self-confidence, self-efficacy - suggests one’s ability to perform  Self-acceptance,  self-worth,  self-respect,  self-esteem  -  they  imply  judgement,  value  and evaluation of oneself    People with low self esteem People with high self esteem Expect people to be critical of  them Are passive or obstructive self-agents Have negative perceptions of their skills, appearance, sexuality and behaviours Perform less well when being watched Are defensive and passive in response to criticism Have unrealistic expectations about their Performance Are dissatisfied with their lot in life Have a weak social support system Have difficulty accepting compliments Are active self agents have positive perception of their skills, appearance, sexuality and behaviours Perform equally well when being observed as when not watched Are non-defensive and assertive in response to criticism Evaluate their performance realistically Express general satisfaction with life Have a strong social support network Can accept compliments easily    We can only get over our problem of self-esteem if we set out to care both for ourselves and for others.   The only proper mirror for seeing our true selves is God’s word. Discover: We are God’s art work                                  Gen 1:27 What God intends us to become                    Eph 2:10 Loved and accepted unconditionally               Rom 8:1