Mental health is a level of psychological well-being, or an absence of mental illness. It is the "psychological state of someone who is functioning at a satisfactory level of emotional and behavioural adjustment".[1] From the perspective of positive psychology or holism, mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life, and create a balance between life activities and efforts to achieve psychological resilience. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health includes "subjective well-being, perceived self-efficacy, autonomy, competence, inter-generational dependence, and self-actualization of one's intellectual and emotional potential, among others."[2] The WHO further states that the well-being of an individual is encompassed in the realization of their abilities, coping with normal stresses of life, productive work and contribution to their community.[3] Cultural differences, subjective assessments, and competing professional theories all affect how "mental health" is defined.[2]

According to the U.K. surgeon general (1999), mental health is the successful performance of mental function, resulting in productive activities, fulfilling relationships with other people, and providing the ability to adapt to change and cope with adversity. The term mental illness refers collectively to all diagnosable mental disordershealth conditions characterized by alterations in thinking, mood, or behavior associated with distress or impaired functioning.[4]

A person struggling with their mental health may experience this because of stress, loneliness, depression, anxiety, relationship problems, death of a loved one, suicidal thoughts, grief, addiction, ADHD, various mood disorders, or other mental illnesses of varying degrees, as well as learning disabilities.[5][6] Therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurse practitioners or physicians can help manage mental illness with treatments such as therapy, counseling, or medication.

In the mid-19th century, William Sweetser was the first to coin the term "mental hygiene", which can be seen as the precursor to contemporary approaches to work on promoting positive mental health.[7][8] Isaac Ray, one of the founders and the fourth president [9] of the American Psychiatric Association, further defined mental hygiene as "the art of preserving the mind against all incidents and influences calculated to deteriorate its qualities, impair its energies, or derange its movements."[8]

Dorothea Dix (18021887) was an important figure in the development of "mental hygiene" movement. Dix was a school teacher who endeavored throughout her life to help people with mental disorders, and to bring to light the deplorable conditions into which they were put.[10] This was known as the "mental hygiene movement".[10] Before this movement, it was not uncommon that people affected by mental illness in the 19th century would be considerably neglected, often left alone in deplorable conditions, barely even having sufficient clothing.[10] Dix's efforts were so great that there was a rise in the number of patients in mental health facilities, which sadly resulted in these patients receiving less attention and care, as these institutions were largely understaffed.[10]

Emil Kraepelin in 1896 developed the taxonomy of mental disorders which has dominated the field for nearly 80 years. Later the proposed disease model of abnormality was subjected to analysis and considered normality to be relative to the physical, geographical and cultural aspects of the defining group.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Clifford Beers founded the Mental Health America National Committee for Mental Hygiene after publication of his accounts from lived experience in lunatic asylums "A mind that found itself" in 1908[11] and opened the first outpatient mental health clinic in the United States.[12]

The mental hygiene movement, related to the social hygiene movement, had at times been associated with advocating eugenics and sterilisation of those considered too mentally deficient to be assisted into productive work and contented family life.[13][14] In the post-WWII years, references to mental hygiene were gradually replaced by the term 'mental health' due to its positive aspect that evolves from the treatment of illness to preventive and promotive areas of healthcare.[15]

Marie Jahoda described six major, fundamental categories that can be used to categorize mentally healthy individuals: a positive attitude towards the self, personal growth, integration, autonomy, a true perception of reality, and environmental mastery, which include adaptability and healthy interpersonal relationships.[16]

Mental illnesses are more common than cancer, diabetes, or heart disease. Over 26 percent of all Americans over the age of 18 meet the criteria for having a mental illness.[17] A WHO report estimates the global cost of mental illness at nearly $2.5 trillion (two-thirds in indirect costs) in 2010, with a projected increase to over $6 trillion by 2030.

Evidence from the World Health Organization suggests that nearly half of the world's population are affected by mental illness with an impact on their self-esteem, relationships and ability to function in everyday life.[18] An individual's emotional health can also impact physical health and poor mental health can lead to problems such as substance abuse.[19]

Maintaining good mental health is crucial to living a long and healthy life. Good mental health can enhance one's life, while poor mental health can prevent someone from living an enriching life. According to Richards, Campania, & Muse-Burke, "There is growing evidence that is showing emotional abilities are associated with prosocial behaviors such as stress management and physical health."[19] Their research also concluded that people who lack emotional expression are inclined to anti-social behaviors (e.g., drug and alcohol abuse, physical fights, vandalism), which are a direct reflection of their mental health and suppress emotions.[19] Adults and children with mental illness may experience social stigma, which can exacerbate the issues.[20]

Mental health can be seen as an unstable continuum, where an individual's mental health may have many different possible values.[21] Mental wellness is generally viewed as a positive attribute, even if the person does not have any diagnosed mental health condition. This definition of mental health highlights emotional well-being, the capacity to live a full and creative life, and the flexibility to deal with life's inevitable challenges. Some discussions are formulated in terms of contentment or happiness.[22] Many therapeutic systems and self-help books offer methods and philosophies espousing strategies and techniques vaunted as effective for further improving the mental wellness. Positive psychology is increasingly prominent in mental health.

A holistic model of mental health generally includes concepts based upon anthropological, educational, psychological, religious and sociological perspectives, as well as theoretical perspectives from personality, social, clinical, health and developmental psychology.[23]

The tripartite model of mental well-being[21][25] views mental well-being as encompassing three components of emotional well-being, social well-being, and psychological well-being. Emotional well-being is defined as having high levels of positive emotions, whereas social and psychological well-being are defined as the presence of psychological and social skills and abilities that contribute to optimal functioning in daily life. The model has received empirical support across cultures.[25][26][27] The Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) is the most widely used scale to measure the tripartite model of mental well-being.[28][29][30]

Mental health and stability is a very important factor in a persons everyday life. Social skills, behavioral skills, and someones way of thinking are just some of the things that the human brain develops at an early age. Learning how to interact with others and how to focus on certain subjects are essential lessons to learn from the time we can talk all the way to when we are so old that we can barely walk. However, there are some people out there who have difficulty with these kind of skills and behaving like an average person. This is a most likely the cause of having a mental illness. A mental illness is a wide range of conditions that affect a persons mood, thinking, and behavior. About 26% of people in the United States, ages 18 and older, have been diagnosed with some kind of mental disorder. However, not much is said about children with mental illnesses even though there are many that will develop one, even as early as age three.

The most common mental illnesses in children include, but are not limited to, ADHD, autism and anxiety disorder, as well as depression in older children and teens. Having a mental illness at a younger age is much different from having one in your thirties. Children's brains are still developing and will continue to develop until around the age of twenty-five.[31] When a mental illness is thrown into the mix, it becomes significantly harder for a child to acquire the necessary skills and habits that people use throughout the day. For example, behavioral skills dont develop as fast as motor or sensory skills do.[31] So when a child has an anxiety disorder, they begin to lack proper social interaction and associate many ordinary things with intense fear.[32] This can be scary for the child because they dont necessarily understand why they act and think the way that they do. Many researchers say that parents should keep an eye on their child if they have any reason to believe that something is slightly off.[31] If the children are evaluated earlier, they become more acquainted to their disorder and treating it becomes part of their daily routine.[31] This is opposed to adults who might not recover as quickly because it is more difficult for them to adapt.

Mental illness affects not only the person themselves, but the people around them. Friends and family also play an important role in the childs mental health stability and treatment. If the child is young, parents are the ones who evaluate their child and decide whether or not they need some form of help.[33] Friends are a support system for the child and family as a whole. Living with a mental disorder is never easy, so its always important to have people around to make the days a little easier. However, there are negative factors that come with the social aspect of mental illness as well. Parents are sometimes held responsible for their childs own illness.[33] People also say that the parents raised their children in a certain way or they acquired their behavior from them. Family and friends are sometimes so ashamed of the idea of being close to someone with a disorder that the child feels isolated and thinks that they have to hide their illness from others.[33] When in reality, hiding it from people prevents the child from getting the right amount of social interaction and treatment in order to thrive in todays society.

Stigma is also a well-known factor in mental illness. Stigma is defined as a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person. Stigma is used especially when it comes to the mentally disabled. People have this assumption that everyone with a mental problem, no matter how mild or severe, is automatically considered destructive or a criminal person. Thanks to the media, this idea has been planted in our brains from a young age.[34] Watching movies about teens with depression or children with Autism makes us think that all of the people that have a mental illness are like the ones on TV. In reality, the media displays an exaggerated version of most illnesses. Unfortunately, not many people know that, so they continue to belittle those with disorders. In a recent study, a majority of young people associate mental illness with extreme sadness or violence.[35] Now that children are becoming more and more open to technology and the media itself, future generations will then continue to pair mental illness with negative thoughts. The media should be explaining that many people with disorders like ADHD and anxiety, with the right treatment, can live ordinary lives and should not be punished for something they cannot help.

Sueki, (2013) carried out a study titled The effect of suiciderelated internet use on users mental health: A longitudinal Study. This study investigated the effects of suicide-related internet use on users suicidal thoughts, predisposition to depression and anxiety and loneliness. The study consisted of 850 internet users; the data was obtained by carrying out a questionnaire amongst the participants. This study found that browsing websites related to suicide, and methods used to commit suicide, had a negative effect on suicidal thoughts and increased depression and anxiety tendencies. The study concluded that as suicide-related internet use adversely affected the mental health of certain age groups it may be prudent to reduce or control their exposure to these websites. These findings certainly suggest that the internet can indeed have a profoundly negative impact on our mental health.[36]

Psychiatrist Thomas Szasz compared that 50 years ago children were either categorized as good or bad, and today "all children are good, but some are mentally healthy and others are mentally ill". The social control and forced identity creation is the cause of many mental health problems among today's children.[37] A behaviour or misbehaviour might not be an illness but exercise of their free will and today's immediacy in drug administration for every problem along with the legal over-guarding and regard of a child's status as a dependent shakes their personal self and invades their internal growth.

Mental health is conventionally defined as a hybrid of absence of a mental disorder and presence of well-being. Focus is increasing on preventing mental disorders. Prevention is beginning to appear in mental health strategies, including the 2004 WHO report "Prevention of Mental Disorders", the 2008 EU "Pact for Mental Health" and the 2011 US National Prevention Strategy.[38][pageneeded] Some commentators have argued that a pragmatic and practical approach to mental disorder prevention at work would be to treat it the same way as physical injury prevention.[39]

Prevention of a disorder at a young age may significantly decrease the chances that a child will suffer from a disorder later in life, and shall be the most efficient and effective measure from a public health perspective.[40] Prevention may require the regular consultation of a physician for at least twice a year to detect any signs that reveal any mental health concerns.[citation needed]

Mental health is a socially constructed and socially defined concept; that is, different societies, groups, cultures, institutions and professions have very different ways of conceptualizing its nature and causes, determining what is mentally healthy, and deciding what interventions, if any, are appropriate.[41] Thus, different professionals will have different cultural, class, political and religious backgrounds, which will impact the methodology applied during treatment.

Research has shown that there is stigma attached to mental illness.[42] In the United Kingdom, the Royal College of Psychiatrists organized the campaign Changing Minds (19982003) to help reduce stigma.[43] Due to this stigma, responses to a positive diagnosis may be a display of denialism.[44]

Many mental health professionals are beginning to, or already understand, the importance of competency in religious diversity and spirituality. The American Psychological Association explicitly states that religion must be respected. Education in spiritual and religious matters is also required by the American Psychiatric Association.[45]

Unemployment has been shown to have a negative impact on an individual's emotional well-being, self-esteem and more broadly their mental health. Increasing unemployment has been show to have a significant impact on mental health, predominantly depressive disorders.[46] This is an important consideration when reviewing the triggers for mental health disorders in any population survey.[47] In order to improve your emotional mental health, the root of the issue has to be resolved. "Prevention emphasizes the avoidance of risk factors; promotion aims to enhance an individual's ability to achieve a positive sense of self-esteem, mastery, well-being, and social inclusion."[48] It is very important to improve your emotional mental health by surrounding yourself with positive relationships. We as humans, feed off companionships and interaction with other people. Another way to improve your emotional mental health is participating in activities that can allow you to relax and take time for yourself. Yoga is a great example of an activity that calms your entire body and nerves. According to a study on well-being by Richards, Campania and Muse-Burke, "mindfulness is considered to be a purposeful state, it may be that those who practice it believe in its importance and value being mindful, so that valuing of self-care activities may influence the intentional component of mindfulness."[19]

Mental health care navigation helps to guide patients and families through the fragmented, often confusing mental health industries. Care navigators work closely with patients and families through discussion and collaboration to provide information on best therapies as well as referrals to practitioners and facilities specializing in particular forms of emotional improvement. The difference between therapy and care navigation is that the care navigation process provides information and directs patients to therapy rather than providing therapy. Still, care navigators may offer diagnosis and treatment planning. Though many care navigators are also trained therapists and doctors. Care navigation is the link between the patient and the below therapies. A clear recognition that mental health requires medical intervention was demonstrated in a study by Kessler et al. of the prevalence and treatment of mental disorders from 1990 to 2003 in the United States. Despite the prevalence of mental health disorders remaining unchanged during this period, the number of patients seeking treatment for mental disorders increased threefold.[49]

Emotional mental disorders are a leading cause of disabilities worldwide. Investigating the degree and severity of untreated emotional mental disorders throughout the world is a top priority of the World Mental Health (WMH) survey initiative,[50] which was created in 1998 by the World Health Organization (WHO).[51] "Neuropsychiatric disorders are the leading causes of disability worldwide, accounting for 37% of all healthy life years lost through disease.These disorders are most destructive to low and middle-income countries due to their inability to provide their citizens with proper aid. Despite modern treatment and rehabilitation for emotional mental health disorders, "even economically advantaged societies have competing priorities and budgetary constraints".

The World Mental Health survey initiative has suggested a plan for countries to redesign their mental health care systems to best allocate resources. "A first step is documentation of services being used and the extent and nature of unmet needs for treatment. A second step could be to do a cross-national comparison of service use and unmet needs in countries with different mental health care systems. Such comparisons can help to uncover optimum financing, national policies, and delivery systems for mental health care."

Knowledge of how to provide effective emotional mental health care has become imperative worldwide. Unfortunately, most countries have insufficient data to guide decisions, absent or competing visions for resources, and near constant pressures to cut insurance and entitlements. WMH surveys were done in Africa (Nigeria, South Africa), the Americas (Colombia, Mexico, United States), Asia and the Pacific (Japan, New Zealand, Beijing and Shanghai in the People's Republic of China), Europe (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Ukraine), and the middle east (Israel, Lebanon). Countries were classified with World Bank criteria as low-income (Nigeria), lower middle-income (China, Colombia, South Africa, Ukraine), higher middle-income (Lebanon, Mexico), and high-income.

The coordinated surveys on emotional mental health disorders, their severity, and treatments were implemented in the aforementioned countries. These surveys assessed the frequency, types, and adequacy of mental health service use in 17 countries in which WMH surveys are complete. The WMH also examined unmet needs for treatment in strata defined by the seriousness of mental disorders. Their research showed that "the number of respondents using any 12-month mental health service was generally lower in developing than in developed countries, and the proportion receiving services tended to correspond to countries' percentages of gross domestic product spent on health care". "High levels of unmet need worldwide are not surprising, since WHO Project ATLAS' findings of much lower mental health expenditures than was suggested by the magnitude of burdens from mental illnesses. Generally, unmet needs in low-income and middle-income countries might be attributable to these nations spending reduced amounts (usually <1%) of already diminished health budgets on mental health care, and they rely heavily on out-of-pocket spending by citizens who are ill equipped for it".

Archaeological records have shown that trepanation was a procedure used to treat "headaches, insanities or epilepsy" in several parts of the world in the Stone age. It was a surgical process used in the Stone Age. Paul Broca studied trepanation and came up with his own theory on it. He noticed that the fractures on the skulls dug up weren't caused by wounds inflicted due to violence, but because of careful surgical procedures. "Doctors used sharpened stones to scrape the skull and drill holes into the head of the patient" to allow evil spirits which plagued the patient to escape. There were several patients that died in these procedures, but those that survived were revered and believed to possess "properties of a mystical order".[1] [2]

Lobotomy was used in the 20th century as a common practice of alternative treatment for mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and depression. The first ever modern leucotomy meant for the purpose of treating a mental illness occurred in 1935 by a Portuguese neurologist, Antonio Egas Moniz. He received the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1949. [3]. This belief that mental health illnesses could be treated by surgery came from Swiss neurologist, Gottlieb Burckhardt. After conducting experiments on six patients with schizophrenia, he claimed that half of his patients recovered or calmed down. Psychiatrist Walter Freeman believed that "an overload of emotions led to mental illness and that cutting certain nerves in the brain could eliminate excess emotion and stabilize a personality, according to a National Public Radio article[4]."

"Exorcism is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person, or an area, they are believed to have possessed."

Mental health illnesses such as Huntingtons Disease (HD), Tourette syndrome and schizophrenia were believed to be signs of possession by the Devil. This led to several mentally ill patients being subjected to exorcisms. This practice has been around for a long time, though decreasing steadily until it reached a low in the 18th century. It seldom occurred until the 20th century when the numbers rose due to the attention the media was giving to exorcisms. Different belief systems practice exorcisms in different ways. [52]

Physical activity is a very good way to help improve your mental health as well as your physical health. Playing sports and doing any form of physical activity can trigger the production of endorphins. Endorphins are natural mood enhancers. [53]

Activity therapies, also called recreation therapy and occupational therapy, promote healing through active engagement. Making crafts can be a part of occupational therapy. Walks can be a part of recreation therapy. In recent years colouring has been recognised as an activity which has been proven to significantly lower the levels of depressive symptoms and anxiety in many studies. [54]

Expressive therapies are a form of psychotherapy that involves the arts or art-making. These therapies include music therapy, art therapy, dance therapy, drama therapy, and poetry therapy. It has been proven that Music therapy is an effective way of helping people who suffer from a mental health disorder.[55]

Psychotherapy is the general term for scientific based treatment of mental health issues based on modern medicine. It includes a number of schools, such as gestalt therapy, psychoanalysis, cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy. Group therapy involves any type of therapy that takes place in a setting involving multiple people. It can include psychodynamic groups, activity groups for expressive therapy, support groups (including the Twelve-step program), problem-solving and psychoeducation groups.

The practice of mindfulness meditation has several mental health benefits, such as bringing about reductions in depression, anxiety and stress.[56][57][58][59] Mindfulness meditation may also be effective in treating substance use disorders.[60][61] Further, mindfulness meditation appears to bring about favorable structural changes in the brain.[62][63][64]

The Heartfulness meditation program has proven to show significant improvements in the state of mind of health-care professionals[65]. A study posted on the US National Library of Medicine showed that these professionals of varied stress levels were able to improve their conditions after this meditation program was conducted. They benefited in aspects of burnouts and emotional wellness.

People with anxiety disorders participated in a stress-reduction program conducted by researchers from the Mental Health Service Line at the W.G. Hefner Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salisbury, North Carolina. The participants practiced mindfulness meditation. After the study was over, it was concluded that the "mindfulness meditation training program can effectively reduce symptoms of anxiety and panic and can help maintain these reductions in patients with generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, or panic disorder with agoraphobia."[66]

Spiritual counselors meet with people in need to offer comfort and support and to help them gain a better understanding of their issues and develop a problem-solving relation with spirituality. These types of counselors deliver care based on spiritual, psychological and theological principles.[67][unreliable source?]

Social work in mental health, also called psychiatric social work, is a process where an individual in a setting is helped to attain freedom from overlapping internal and external problems (social and economic situations, family and other relationships, the physical and organizational environment, psychiatric symptoms, etc.). It aims for harmony, quality of life, self-actualization and personal adaptation across all systems. Psychiatric social workers are mental health professionals that can assist patients and their family members in coping with both mental health issues and various economic or social problems caused by mental illness or psychiatric dysfunctions and to attain improved mental health and well-being. They are vital members of the treatment teams in Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in hospitals. They are employed in both outpatient and inpatient settings of a hospital, nursing homes, state and local governments, substance abuse clinics, correctional facilities, health care services...etc.[68]

In psychiatric social work there are three distinct groups. One made up of the social workers in psychiatric organizations and hospitals. The second group consists members interested with mental hygiene education and holding designations that involve functioning in various mental health services and the third group consist of individuals involved directly with treatment and recovery process.[69]

In the United States, social workers provide most of the mental health services. According to government sources, 60 percent of mental health professionals are clinically trained social workers, 10 percent are psychiatrists, 23 percent are psychologists, and 5 percent are psychiatric nurses.[70]

Mental health social workers in Japan have professional knowledge of health and welfare and skills essential for person's well-being. Their social work training enables them as a professional to carry out Consultation assistance for mental disabilities and their social reintegration; Consultation regarding the rehabilitation of the victims; Advice and guidance for post-discharge residence and re-employment after hospitalized care, for major life events in regular life, money and self-management and in other relevant matters in order to equip them to adapt in daily life. Social workers provide individual home visits for mentally ill and do welfare services available, with specialized training a range of procedural services are coordinated for home, workplace and school. In an administrative relationship, Psychiatric social workers provides consultation, leadership, conflict management and work direction. Psychiatric social workers who provides assessment and psychosocial interventions function as a clinician, counselor and municipal staff of the health centers.[71]

Social workers play many roles in mental health settings, including those of case manager, advocate, administrator, and therapist. The major functions of a psychiatric social worker are promotion and prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation. Social workers may also practice:

Psychiatric social workers conduct psychosocial assessments of the patients and work to enhance patient and family communications with the medical team members and ensure the inter-professional cordiality in the team to secure patients with the best possible care and to be active partners in their care planning. Depending upon the requirement, social workers are often involved in illness education, counseling and psychotherapy. In all areas, they are pivotal to the aftercare process to facilitate a careful transition back to family and community. [72]

During the 1840s, Dorothea Lynde Dix, a retired Boston teacher who is considered the founder of the Mental Health Movement, began a crusade that would change the way people with mental disorders were viewed and treated. Dix was not a social worker; the profession was not established until after her death in 1887. However, her life and work were embraced by early psychiatric social workers, and she is considered one of the pioneers of psychiatric social work along with Elizabeth Horton, who in 1907 was the first psychiatric social worker in the New York hospital system, and others.[73] The early twentieth century was a time of progressive change in attitudes towards mental illness. Community Mental Health Centers Act was passed in 1963. This policy encouraged the deinstitutionalisation of people with mental illness. Later, mental health consumer movement came by 1980s. A consumer was defined as a person who has received or is currently receiving services for a psychiatric condition. People with mental disorders and their families became advocates for better care. Building public understanding and awareness through consumer advocacy helped bring mental illness and its treatment into mainstream medicine and social services.[74] In the 2000s focus was on Managed care movement which aimed at a health care delivery system to eliminate unnecessary and inappropriate care in order to reduce costs & Recovery movement in which by principle acknowledges that many people with serious mental illness spontaneously recover and others recover and improve with proper treatment.[75]

Role of social workers made an impact with 2003 invasion of Iraq and War in Afghanistan (200114) social workers worked out of the NATO hospital in Afghanistan and Iraq bases. They made visits to provide counseling services at forward operating bases. Twenty-two percent of the clients were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, 17 percent with depression, and 7 percent with alcohol abuse.[76] In 2009, a high level of suicides was reached among active-duty soldiers: 160 confirmed or suspected Army suicides. In 2008, the Marine Corps had a record 52 suicides.[77] The stress of long and repeated deployments to war zones, the dangerous and confusing nature of both wars, wavering public support for the wars, and reduced troop morale have all contributed to the escalating mental health issues.[78] Military and civilian social workers are primary service providers in the veterans health care system.

Mental health services, is a loose network of services ranging from highly structured inpatient psychiatric units to informal support groups, where psychiatric social workers indulges in the diverse approaches in multiple settings along with other paraprofessional workers.

A role for psychiatric social workers was established early in Canadas history of service delivery in the field of population health. Native North Americans understood mental trouble as an indication of an individual who had lost their equilibrium with the sense of place and belonging in general, and with the rest of the group in particular. In native healing beliefs, health and mental health were inseparable, so similar combinations of natural and spiritual remedies were often employed to relieve both mental and physical illness. These communities and families greatly valued holistic approaches for preventative health care. Indigenous peoples in Canada have faced cultural oppression and social marginalization through the actions of European colonizers and their institutions since the earliest periods of contact. Culture contact brought with it many forms of depredation. Economic, political, and religious institutions of the European settlers all contributed to the displacement and oppression of indigenous people.[79][pageneeded] The officially recorded treatment practices started in 1714, when Quebec opened wards for the mentally ill. In the 1830s social services were active through charity organizations and church parishes (Social Gospel Movement). Asylums for the insane were opened in 1835 in Saint John and New Brunswick. In 1841 in Toronto, when care for the mentally ill became institutionally based. Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867, retaining its ties to the British crown. During this period age of industrial capitalism began, which lead to a social and economic dislocation in many forms. By 1887 asylums were converted to hospitals and nurses and attendants were employed for the care of the mentally ill. The first social work training began at University of Toronto in 1914. In 1918 Clarence Hincks & Clifford Beers founded the Canadian National Committee for Mental Hygiene, which later became the Canadian Mental Health Association. In 1930s Dr. Clarence Hincks promoted prevention and of treating sufferers of mental illness before they were incapacitated/early detection. World War II profoundly affected attitudes towards mental health. The medical examinations of recruits revealed that thousands of apparently healthy adults suffered mental difficulties. This knowledge changed public attitudes towards mental health, and stimulated research into preventive measures and methods of treatment.[80] In 1951 Mental Health Week was introduced across Canada. For the first half of the twentieth century, with a period of deinstitutionalisation beginning in the late 1960s psychiatric social work succeeded to the current emphasis on community-based care, psychiatric social work focused beyond the medical models aspects on individual diagnosis to identify and address social inequities and structural issues. In the 1980s Mental Health Act was amended to give consumers the right to choose treatment alternatives. Later the focus shifted to workforce mental health issues and environment.[81]

The earliest citing of Mental disorders in India are from Vedic Era (2000 BC AD 600).[82] Charaka Samhita, an ayurvedic textbook believed to be from 400200 BC describes various factors of mental stability. It also has instructions regarding how to set up a care delivery system.[83] In the same era In south India Siddha was a medical system, the great sage Agastya, one of the 18 siddhas contributing to a system of medicine has included the Agastiyar Kirigai Nool, a compendium of psychiatric disorders and their recommended treatments.[84] In Atharva Veda too there are descriptions and resolutions about mental health afflictions. In the Mughal period Unani system of medicine was introduced by an Indian physician Unhammad in 1222.[85] Then existed form of psychotherapy was known then as ilaj-i-nafsani in Unani medicine.

The 18th century was a very unstable period in Indian history, which contributed to psychological and social chaos in the Indian subcontinent. In 1745 of lunatic asylums were developed in Bombay (Mumbai) followed by Calcutta (Kolkata) in 1784, and Madras (Chennai) in 1794. The need to establish hospitals became more acute, first to treat and manage Englishmen and Indian sepoys (military men) employed by the British East India Company.[86] The First Lunacy Act (also called Act No. 36) that came into effect in 1858 was later modified by a committee appointed in Bengal in 1888. Later, the Indian Lunacy Act, 1912 was brought under this legislation. A rehabilitation programme was initiated between 1870s and 1890s for persons with mental illness at the Mysore Lunatic Asylum, and then an occupational therapy department was established during this period in almost each of the lunatic asylums. The programme in the asylum was called work therapy. In this programme, persons with mental illness were involved in the field of agriculture for all activities. This programme is considered as the seed of origin of psychosocial rehabilitation in India.

Berkeley-Hill, superintendent of the European Hospital (now known as the Central Institute of Psychiatry (CIP), established in 1918), was deeply concerned about the improvement of mental hospitals in those days. The sustained efforts of Berkeley-Hill helped to raise the standard of treatment and care and he also persuaded the government to change the term asylum to hospital in 1920.[87] Techniques similar to the current token-economy were first started in 1920 and called by the name habit formation chart at the CIP, Ranchi. In 1937, the first post of psychiatric social worker was created in the child guidance clinic run by the Dhorabji Tata School of Social Work (established in 1936), It is considered as the first documented evidence of social work practice in Indian mental health field.

After Independence in 1947, general hospital psychiatry units (GHPUs) where established to improve conditions in existing hospitals, while at the same time encouraging outpatient care through these units. In Amritsar a Dr. Vidyasagar, instituted active involvement of families in the care of persons with mental illness. This was advanced practice ahead of its times regarding treatment and care. This methodology had a greater impact on social work practice in the mental health field especially in reducing the stigmatisation. In 1948 Gauri Rani Banerjee, trained in the United States, started a masters course in medical and psychiatric social work at the Dhorabji Tata School of Social Work (Now TISS). Later the first trained psychiatric social worker was appointed in 1949 at the adult psychiatry unit of Yervada mental hospital, Pune.

In various parts of the country, in mental health service settings, social workers were employedin 1956 at a mental hospital in Amritsar, in 1958 at a child guidance clinic of the college of nursing, and in Delhi in 1960 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and in 1962 at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. In 1960, the Madras Mental Hospital (Now Institute of Mental Health), employed social workers to bridge the gap between doctors and patients. In 1961 the social work post was created at the NIMHANS. In these settings they took care of the psychosocial aspect of treatment. This had long-term greater impact of social work practice in mental health.[88]

In 1966 by the recommendation Mental Health Advisory Committee, Ministry of Health, Government of India, NIMHANS commenced Department of Psychiatric Social Work started and a two-year Postgraduate Diploma in Psychiatric Social Work was introduced in 1968. In 1978, the nomenclature of the course was changed to MPhil in Psychiatric Social Work. Subsequently, a PhD Programme was introduced. By the recommendations Mudaliar committee in 1962, Diploma in Psychiatric Social Work was started in 1970 at the European Mental Hospital at Ranchi (now CIP), upgraded the program and added other higher training courses subsequently.

A new initiative to integrate mental health with general health services started in 1975 in India. The Ministry of Health, Government of India formulated the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) and launched it in 1982. The same was reviewed in 1995 and based on that, the District Mental Health Program (DMHP) launched in 1996 and sought to integrate mental health care with public health care.[89] This model has been implemented in all the states and currently there are 125 DMHP sites in India.

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in 1998 and 2008 carried out systematic, intensive and critical examinations of mental hospitals in India. This resulted in recognition of the human rights of the persons with mental illness by the NHRC. From the NHRC's report as part of the NMHP, funds were provided for upgrading the facilities of mental hospitals. This is studied to result in positive changes over the past 10 years than in the preceding five decades by the 2008 report of the NHRC and NIMHANS.[90] In 2016 Mental Health Care Bill was passed which ensures and legally entitles access to treatments with coverage from insurance, safeguarding dignity of the afflicted person, improving legal and healthcare access and allows for free medications.[91][92][93] In December 2016, Disabilities Act 1995 was repealed with Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (RPWD), 2016 from the 2014 Bill which ensures benefits for a wider population with disabilities. The Bill before becoming an Act was pushed for amendments by stakeholders mainly against alarming clauses in the "Equality and Non discrimination" section that diminishes the power of the act and allows establishments to overlook or discriminate against persons with disabilities and against the general lack of directives that requires to ensure the proper implementation of the Act.[94][95]

Lack of any universally accepted single licensing authority compared to foreign countries puts Social Workers at general in risk. But general bodies/councils accepts automatically a university qualified Social Worker as a professional licensed to practice or as a qualified clinician. Lack of a centralized council in tie-up with Schools of Social Work also makes a decline in promotion for the scope of social workers as mental health professionals. Though in this midst the service of Social Workers has given a facelift of the mental health sector in the country with other allied professionals.[96]

Evidence suggests that 450 million people worldwide are impacted by mental health, major depression ranks fourth among the top 10 leading causes of disease worldwide. Within 20 years, mental illness is predicted to become the leading cause of disease worldwide. Women are more likely to have a mental illness than men. One million people commit suicide every year and 10 to 20 million attempt it.[97]

A survey conducted by Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2008 regarding adults with manageable to severe neurosis reveals almost half of the population had a mental disorder at some point of their life and one in five people had a sustained disorder in the preceding 12 months. In neurotic disorders, 14% of the population experienced anxiety disorders, comorbidity disorders were the next common mental disorder with vulnerability to substance abuse and relapses. There were distinct gender differences in disposition to mental health illness. Women were found to have high rate of mental health disorders and Men had higher propensity of risk for substance abuse. The SMHWB survey showed low socioeconomic status and high dysfunctional pattern in the family was proportional to greater risk for mental health disorders. A 2010 survey regarding adults with psychosis revealed 5 persons per 1000 in the population seeks professional mental health services for psychotic disorders and the most common psychotic disorder was schizophrenia.[98][99]

According to statistics released by the Centre of Addiction and Mental Health one in five people in Ontario experience a mental health or addiction problem. Young people ages 15 to 25 are particularly vulnerable. Major depression is found to affect 8% and anxiety disorder 12% of the population. Women are 1.5 times more likely to suffer from mood and anxiety disorders. WHO points out that there are distinct gender differences in patterns of mental health and illness. The lack of power and control over their socioeconomic status, gender based violence; low social position and responsibility for the care of others render women vulnerable to mental health risks. Since more women than men seek help regarding a mental health problem, this has led to not only gender stereotyping but also reinforcing social stigma. WHO has found that this stereotyping has led doctors to diagnose depression more often in women than in men even when they display identical symptoms. Often communication between health care providers and women is authoritarian leading to either the under-treatment or over-treatment of these women.[3]

Women's College Hospital is specifically dedicated to women's health in Canada. This hospital is located in downtown Toronto where there are several locations available for specific medical conditions. WCH is an organization that helps educate women on mental illness due to its specialization with women and mental health. The organization helps women who have symptoms of mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause. They also focus on psychological issues, abuse, neglect and mental health issues from various medications.[100]

The countless aspect about this organization is that WCH is open to women of all ages, including pregnant women that experience poor mental health. WCH not only provides care for good mental health, but they also have a program called the "Women's Mental Health Program" where doctors and nurses help treat and educate women regarding mental health collaboratively, individually, and online by answering questions from the public.[100]

The second organization is the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). CAMH is one of Canada's largest and most well-known health and addiction facilities, and it has received international recognitions from the Pan American Health Organization and World Health Organization Collaborating Centre. They practice in doing research in areas of addiction and mental health in both men and women. In order to help both men and women, CAMH provides "clinical care, research, education, policy development and health promotion to help transform the lives of people affected by mental health and addiction issues."[101] CAMH is different from Women's College Hospital due to its widely known rehab centre for women who have minor addiction issues, to severe ones. This organization provides care for mental health issues by assessments, interventions, residential programs, treatments, and doctor and family support.[101]

According to the World Health Organization in 2004, depression is the leading cause of disability in the United States for individuals ages 15 to 44.[102] Absence from work in the U.S. due to depression is estimated to be in excess of $31 billion per year. Depression frequently co-occurs with a variety of medical illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, and chronic pain and is associated with poorer health status and prognosis.[103] Each year, roughly 30,000 Americans take their lives, while hundreds of thousands make suicide attempts (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).[104] In 2004, suicide was the 11th leading cause of death in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), third among individuals ages 1524. Despite the increasingly availability of effectual depression treatment, the level of unmet need for treatment remains high.[citation needed] By way of comparison, a study conducted in Australia during 2006 to 2007 reported that one-third (34.9%) of patients diagnosed with a mental health disorder had presented to medical health services for treatment.[105]

There are many factors that influence mental health including:

Emotional mental illnesses should be a particular concern in the United States since the U.S. has the highest annual prevalence rates (26 percent) for mental illnesses among a comparison of 14 developing and developed countries.[106] While approximately 80 percent of all people in the United States with a mental disorder eventually receive some form of treatment, on the average persons do not access care until nearly a decade following the development of their illness, and less than one-third of people who seek help receive minimally adequate care.[107] The government offers everyone programs and services, but veterans receive the most help, there is certain eligibility criteria that has to be met. [108]

The mental health policies in the United States have experienced four major reforms: the American asylum movement led by Dorothea Dix in 1843; the "mental hygiene" movement inspired by Clifford Beers in 1908; the deinstitutionalization started by Action for Mental Health in 1961; and the community support movement called for by The CMCH Act Amendments of 1975.[109]

In 1843, Dorothea Dix submitted a Memorial to the Legislature of Massachusetts, describing the abusive treatment and horrible conditions received by the mentally ill patients in jails, cages, and almshouses. She revealed in her Memorial: "I proceed, gentlemen, briefly to call your attention to the present state of insane persons confined within this Commonwealth, in cages, closets, cellars, stalls, pens! Chained, naked, beaten with rods, and lashed into obedience."[110] Many asylums were built in that period, with high fences or walls separating the patients from other community members and strict rules regarding the entrance and exit. In those asylums, traditional treatments were well implemented: drugs were not used as a cure for a disease, but a way to reset equilibrium in a person's body, along with other essential elements such as healthy diets, fresh air, middle class culture, and the visits by their neighboring residents.[citation needed] In 1866, a recommendation came to the New York State Legislature to establish a separate asylum for chronic mentally ill patients. Some hospitals placed the chronic patients into separate wings or wards, or different buildings.[111]

In A Mind That Found Itself (1908) Clifford Whittingham Beers described the humiliating treatment he received and the deplorable conditions in the mental hospital.[112] One year later, the National Committee for Mental Hygiene (NCMH) was founded by a small group of reform-minded scholars and scientists including Beer himself which marked the beginning of the "mental hygiene" movement. The movement emphasized the importance of childhood prevention. World War I catalyzed this idea with an additional emphasis on the impact of maladjustment, which convinced the hygienists that prevention was the only practical approach to handle mental health issues.[113] However, prevention was not successful, especially for chronic illness; the condemnable conditions in the hospitals were even more prevalent, especially under the pressure of the increasing number of chronically ill and the influence of the depression.[109]

In 1961, the Joint Commission on Mental Health published a report called Action for Mental Health, whose goal was for community clinic care to take on the burden of prevention and early intervention of the mental illness, therefore to leave space in the hospitals for severe and chronic patients. The court started to rule in favor of the patients' will on whether they should be forced to treatment. By 1977, 650 community mental health centers were built to cover 43 percent of the population and serve 1.9 million individuals a year, and the lengths of treatment decreased from 6 months to only 23 days.[114] However, issues still existed. Due to inflation, especially in the 1970s, the community nursing homes received less money to support the care and treatment provided. Fewer than half of the planned centers were created, and new methods did not fully replace the old approaches to carry out its full capacity of treating power.[114] Besides, the community helping system was not fully established to support the patients' housing, vocational opportunities, income supports, and other benefits.[109] Many patients returned to welfare and criminal justice institutions, and more became homeless. The movement of deinstitutionalization was facing great challenges.[115]

After realizing that simply changing the location of mental health care from the state hospitals to nursing houses was insufficient to implement the idea of deinstitutionalization, the National Institute of Mental Health in 1975 created the Community Support Program (CSP) to provide funds for communities to set up a comprehensive mental health service and supports to help the mentally ill patients integrate successfully in the society. The program stressed the importance of other supports in addition to medical care, including housing, living expenses, employment, transportation, and education; and set up new national priority for people with serious mental disorders. In addition, the Congress enacted the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980 to prioritize the service to the mentally ill and emphasize the expansion of services beyond just clinical care alone.[116] Later in the 1980s, under the influence from the Congress and the Supreme Court, many programs started to help the patients regain their benefits. A new Medicaid service was also established to serve people who were diagnosed with a "chronic mental illness." People who were temporally hospitalized were also provided aid and care and a pre-release program was created to enable people to apply for reinstatement prior to discharge.[114] Not until 1990, around 35 years after the start of the deinstitutionalization, did the first state hospital begin to close. The number of hospitals dropped from around 300 by over 40 in the 1990s, and finally a Report on Mental Health showed the efficacy of mental health treatment, giving a range of treatments available for patients to choose.[116]

However, several critics maintain that deinstitutionalization has, from a mental health point of view, been a thoroughgoing failure. The seriously mentally ill are either homeless, or in prison; in either case (especially the latter), they are getting little or no mental health care. This failure is attributed to a number of reasons over which there is some degree of contention, although there is general agreement that community support programs have been ineffective at best, due to a lack of funding.[115]

The 2011 National Prevention Strategy included mental and emotional well-being, with recommendations including better parenting and early intervention programs, which increase the likelihood of prevention programs being included in future US mental health policies.[117][pageneeded] The NIMH is researching only suicide and HIV/AIDS prevention, but the National Prevention Strategy could lead to it focusing more broadly on longitudinal prevention studies.[118][not in citation given]

In 2013, United States Representative Tim Murphy introduced the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, HR2646. The bipartisan bill went through substantial revision and was reintroduced in 2015 by Murphy and Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson. In November 2015, it passed the Health Subcommittee by an 1812 vote.[citation needed]

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Mental health - Wikipedia

Positive Mental Attitude

So much has been written for so many years about the importance of having a Positive Mental Attitude. Entire sections of the libraries and bookstores are dedicated to itmuch of it called Self Help. Philosophers have philosophized and theorists have theorized and authors and motivational speakers have built entire careers recirculating the same information for years and years.

So do we get it?

How many times can we as authors, livers-of-life, speakers, teachers, writers, business people, Moms, Dads, CEOs, and all the rest keep saying the same thing? The answer is, endlesslyuntil we get it!

Aristotle, back in the forever ago, said, We become just by performing just action, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave action. (italics added for emphasis)

AND

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

Dr. Andrew Newberg said, Language shapes our behavior and each word we use is imbued with multitudes of personal meaning. The right words spoken in the right way can bring us love, money and respect, while the wrong wordsor even the right words spoken in the wrong waycan lead to a country to war. We must carefully orchestrate our speech if we want to achieve our goals and bring our dreams to fruition.

Tony Robbins often says, Where your focus goes, energy flows. If you focus on your negativity and fears, those thoughts will consume you and suck all of your energy

You get the picture. How we think, how we feel, the words we say, can affect every aspect of our lives, creating success and abundance or lack thereof.

As Associates with TruVision Health, we are in the business of helping people. The weight loss industry is a multi-billion dollar industry, because there is so much focus is on the shell that we carry around from the moment we are born until the moment we die. We are judged by the skin suit that we wear, whether it reflects who we are on the inside or not. Thats why the weight loss industry is infused with billions of dollars. People will dump thousands upon thousands of dollars into changing their outsides, with very little thought given to their insides. And by insides, we mean, THEM/YOU/METhe CORE being underneath all the fat, muscle, skeleton and organs.

We come across people every day who have tried everything, and nothing works. We come across people every day whose lives have been changed by TruVision because it finally worked. We encounter customers and friends and Associates who are thriving, successful, happy, and fulfilled. While others seem to stay stuck. What is the difference? What makes the differences so vast?

10 times out of 10, a new customer who is committed to changing their life, who is committed to taking the products consistently, who is committed to walking or exercising, who is committed to keeping a happy attitude WILL BE SUCCESSFUL. Their success comes in many formsthe scale just happens to be one of them.

10 times out of 10, a customer who refuses to make changes, who refuses to think positively about their new lifestyle, who refuses to take products consistently, who looks at all the wrong things and the bad things and the things that didnt go right, will fail in their journey. And the scale is just their indicator that they are right, that nothing works.

What does this mean in terms of science and formulas? Well I suppose it means the most magical formula on earth, is the one you believe in. And the most successful product on earth that works for millions wont work for anyone who continues to believe that nothing works. When everything is working together, including magnificent TruVision Weight Loss products as tools, success WILL occur.

Happiness depends on ourselves.

-Aristotle

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Positive Mental Attitude - The Formula For Success

Kyle Monti of Okeechobee, Fla., was upset with the world when he fished his first Bassmaster Open. His father, John, at age 39, had recently been shot and killed. Monti believed the way to get past his sorrow and move ahead was to fish harder.

Montis inaugural Bassmaster Open was the southern divisions first event of 2015 at Floridas Lake Tohopekaliga. He fell well short of earning a check there. During the next Southern Open on the Alabama River, Monti failed to catch a single bass.

I was fishing angry, Monti said. I realized I had an issue and started doing research on sports psychology.

Montis road to mental toughness began by reading the book How Champions Think by sports psychologistDr. Bob Rotella. He also did internet searches on how to achieve a positive mental attitude. An especially helpful source for Monti was a four-part video on youtube.com titled, G-Man Gerald Swindle Comedy Hour Fishing Seminar.

The Swindle videos are filled with humor, which is what the Alabama Elite Series pro is known for. However, Swindle uses humor in the videos to emphasize the importance of a positive mental attitude (PMA) when tournament fishing.

Ive watched those videos at least 100 times, Monti said.

Monti also found a Swindle video on PMA from The Bass University. In that video Swindle tells how the untimely death of his brother from cancer put him in a dark place. The loss caused negativity in all aspects of Swindles life, including his tournament fishing. It was something Swindle had to overcome to gain a positive mental attitude. Monti knew he faced the same challenge.

Overcoming negativity is hard and it doesnt happen overnight. One of Swindles points in the videos is that it takes 21 positive thoughts to offset one negative thought. Monti was encouraged that his mindset was on the right track when he finished 30th at the final Southern Open of 2015 at Lake Seminole.

Although Monti is only 25 years old, he has reason to be upset about doing poorly in the Bassmaster Opens. He claims he could cast a baitcasting reel before he knew how to tie his shoes.

Montis family lived in Belle Glade on the southern end of Lake Okeechobee. His initial fishing ventures were casting from the bank of the canal that flows from Okeechobee through the sugarcane fields that were farmed by his father. Although his father and grandfather, Ray Alston, often took Monti fishing, neither of them participated in bass tournaments.

Montis zeal for tournament fishing was instilled in him from watching Bassmaster television shows on Saturday mornings. When his elementary school teachers asked their students what they wanted to be, fireman or policeman were common responses from other boys. But starting at the tender age of five, Montis answer was always that he wanted to be a professional bass fisherman. He was as serious about this quest then as he is now.

At age 11 Monti began fishing Junior B.A.S.S. Nation tournaments with the Big O Teen Anglers club. He competed in these events until he was 18 and finished second in the Florida state championship three times.

At age 14 Monti also began fishing team tournaments. His mother, Tonya Stamm, would drive him to and from these events.

She always encouraged me to do what I love, Monti said.

About this time is when Monti met Steve Broughton, an older tournament angler who was a major influence in his life. Broughton took Monti fishing and taught him how to practice and prepare for tournaments.

When Monti attended Indian River State College in Okeechobee, Fla., he started an FLW bass fishing team. He made the championship the first year and had an opportunity to compete against Dustin Connell and Matt and Jordan Lee who are now Elite Series pros.

In 2014 Monti fished the FLW Tour as a co-angler to see what it was all about. He finished in the top 10 three times. Encouraged by his success, he fished the Bassmaster Southern Opens as a pro in 2015.

In 2016 Monti fished the FLW Tour but was unable to sign on for the Bassmaster Southern Opens due to a lack of funds. He earns his living as a fishing guide on Lake Okeechobee, which he hopes will keep him on the water and fine-tuned for tournament fishing.

During 2016, Monti concentrated on his PMA. That proved difficult because Murphys Law threw many curves his way while fishing the FLW Tour, including breaking down. Monti finished the year by making the top 10 in three BLF tournaments. He was convinced that his improved PMA was what made the difference and that he was ready to tackle the 2017 Southern Opens.

Was he ever. Monti claimed a check in all three 2017 Southern Open tournaments. His best performance was at the last event on Alabamas Smith Lake where he finished fifth. He climbed to second place in the Southern Opens final AOY standings and earned an invitation to join the Elite Series.

Never doubt the power of a positive mental attitude.

Monti currently lives in Okeechobee, Fla., with his wife Haley and 2-year-old son Jett. His current sponsors include Farm Bureau Insurance, Phoenix Boats, Mercury Marine, Power-Pole, Lowrance Electronics, Denali Rods and Bobs Machine Shop.

Read more from the original source:
Opens profile: Monti's positive mental attitude | Bassmaster

Golf is a game that is at once exhilarating and frustrating. The possibilities for perfection excite the player, but the game has the uncanny ability to expose weaknesses of mind and character of the player too.

The player must learn to accept the challenge to play golfs inner game in order to achieve a modicum of success. She must not only recognize the hazards of OB markers and sand traps, but the existence of mental hazards as well. Many players vow to quit the game because of internal and external frustrations, but few actually do quit. The game of golf is quite alluring because of the possibilities to swing like the pros. And many novices are able (on occasion) to do just that. The frustrations lie in the fact that repetitive success is hard to achieve at will. Hence, what is agonizing about the game is its manner of inconsistency. The good news is that, with a little discipline, a player can achieve the mental attitude necessary to improve.

Precision can be achieved through the positive manner in which one approaches the ball. Most professionals seem to approach the ball with great self-discipline. This should be the goal of the novice as well. Consistency in ones approach is important. Every single time, approach the ball with a calm nature. Everyone knows that golf does not allow for the release of pent up frustration. The next shot must be achieved with a kind of quiet attitude. This calls for one to understand the inner game of golf as well as the outer game.

The game brings with it the pressure of knowing one has to make every shot count because golf does not allow for many mistakes. And, because golf is a game one plays against herself (as well as others), the inner game becomes intensified, i.e. the ego is challenged and threatened. Many times, this pressure can cause the player to perform poorly, yet it is just this kind of pressure that attracts one to the game in the first place.

The best golfers realize that there is no one tip or strategy that can prepare them for each challenge. They realize that good golf is achieved through patience and practice of inner and outer game skills. If a shot is poor, the player has a tendency to overanalyze what went wrong. If the shot is good, the player spends a lot of time thinking about how to repeat it. But the best golfers know how to clear the mind, regardless of external factors.

The biggest secret to golf is learning to control ones mind. When this is achieved, the body naturally relaxes, allowing for a better shot.

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The Inner Game of Golf: Mental Approach and Attitude

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Do you have any tips on using more of my brain?

wikiHow Contributor

You are already using all of your brain to survive. You are referring to improving your intellect and critical thinking faculties, which can be done by reading, learning, doing intellectual pursuits, traveling, keeping an open mind, finding out new things every day, more reading, talking to a wide variety of people, attending lectures and seminars, going to college, getting a good job, doing puzzles, exercising often, eating a nutritionally balanced diet and trying to see the better side to things in life.

How can I get smarter and more active?

wikiHow Contributor

If you work continually, you'll achieve your goals. As Winston Churchill once stated: "Consistent effort, not strength or intelligence is the key to unlocking our potential." As for being more active, get up and move now, and keep that going every day for the rest of your life.

How do I make my brain sharp in studies by natural ways but easily?

wikiHow Contributor

Make it a daily practice to come up with ideas, plan them out, then tear them down. This is a good mental exercise that promotes creativity, as well as logical and analytical thinking.

When someone does something bad to me, I feel like taking revenge on them. What should I do?

wikiHow Contributor

Try your best not to take it in. Allowing whatever was done to hurt you allows it to have control over you. Talk with the person and explain how you feel. If they cannot be reasoned with, perhaps you should break the relationship but there is no need for revenge, as revenge is a form of clinging onto that person and letting them continue to ruin your thoughts.

How do I relax my mind quickly?

wikiHow Contributor

One way to achieve this is by programming your mind using a "magic word." When you are in a quiet place where nothing will disturb your moment alone, lay down comfortably, close your eyes and repeat peacefully in your head the word "relax".As you will practice, the relaxation will come more and more quickly. When you are instantly relaxing by applying the above method, experiment, try to perform instant relaxation with open eyes, sitting down or standing up. Once you are alright with this skill when alone, practice it outside and in potentially tension-creating situations.

How does state of mind affect people?

wikiHow Contributor

It affects relevantly. When you are happy, you will do things easily without fear of failing; but if you're a bit of depressed, you will act as a pessimist.

How can I refresh my mind from bad situations?

wikiHow Contributor

At that time, just think of prose and cons of that situation for a moment then reply to occasion. Try to delay sudden responses for the critical condition. It's better to think twice and respond.

I get distracted quite easily. What should I do?

wikiHow Contributor

Write a note about what you need to accomplish and set an alarm for 30 minutes. Get to work and then, when the alarm goes off, make sure you are still on task. If not, the alarm should remind you to continue working.

How can I make sure I remember things I learned in class?

wikiHow Contributor

Take good notes in class, and review them frequently.

Why can't I stay concentrated on my duties?

wikiHow Contributor

Concentration is the vital for life. So one should practice the meditation in the childhood itself. Try to focus more about your job.

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How to Keep a Sharp Mind and Good Attitude (with Pictures)

The older I get, the more Im hearing people complain of a lack of joy and fulfillment in their lives. Personally, I think this is often caused by an imbalance in physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs. In other words, people are not allowing themselves the right amount of sleep, nutrition, exercise, work, security, intellectual stimulation, attention, sense of achievement, socialization, fun, time alone and so on.

While exploring ways to increase happiness, many people identify a lack of spiritual satisfaction which often leads them on a journey of gratitude.

Robert Emmons is recognized as the worlds leading scientific expert on gratitude. He describes gratitude as a felt sense of wonder, thankfulness, and appreciation for life and explains it as an acknowledgement and an appreciation of things that are given to or done for someone. He goes on to say that the good feelings associated with gratitude inspire people to create the same feelings for others.

Most people learn basic gratitude as children when theyre taught to say thank you, show respect and help others. But in this busy and disposable world, it seems many have developed a sense of entitlement, feeling its their right to live their lives a particular way, instantly have the best instead of working and saving for itand taking so much of their lives for granted.

Positive psychology research proves that gratitude is strongly associated with the emotions that help people enjoy greater health and happiness. It can also play an important role in nurturing relationships and can even inspire people to take better care of themselves.

A study conducted by scientists Ken Sheldon, David Schkade and Sonja Lyubomirsky discovered that the components affecting happiness can be divided into three sections:

1) A natural Set Point that you are born with (50%),2) Life Circumstances (10%), and3) Intentional Activity (40%).

In simple terms, its our behaviour thats most likely to increase our level of happiness.

People who incorporate gratitude into their daily lives have a more optimistic outlook and are more appreciative of everyday things. As they are less likely to take things for granted, they are more inclined to be moved by the little things that can seem quite mundane to others. And because their attitude towards life may be more easy going, feeling that whatever comes their way is a blessing, disappointment may not be a factor that greatly affects their mood. Being able to see the bright side of life rather than focusing on a lack, is a major factor in improving happiness.

Grateful people tend to be less materialistic and more hopeful. Theyre also likely to be more resilient and less likely to feel theyre a victim when things dont go their way. Being better able to cope with tragedies and crisis, helps improve the quality and experiences they have in life.

Its proven that people who live with gratitude are less likely to suffer from anxiety or depression. Its been shown that grateful people are more optimistic and apart from an increase in energy, optimism has a number of health benefits. And its not just mental health thats positively impacted, but physical health too. Gratitude has a positive effect on immunity, blood pressure, heart disease, cancer outcomes, pain tolerance and even pregnancy.

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.William Arthur Ward

People experiencing heartfelt gratitude and high levels of happiness have far greater self-esteem and confidence than those with an attitude of doom and gloom. Being grateful focuses our attention on happier, more positive thoughts which helps them feel better about themselves and banishes negative self-talk. Being appreciative of the things people have done for them can help them see just how much theyre cherished and valued, hence increasing their self-worth in their own mind.

Its been shown that people with a grateful disposition are more likely to reach their goals faster. Those in managerial positions report that thanking their colleagues and showing genuine appreciation for their efforts, improves productivity and motivates enthusiasm and loyalty.

A study conducted by Psychologist Jeffrey Froh showed students who regularly practised gratitude were more optimistic, more satisfied in life and more positive about school.

Another study suggested that grateful adolescents form stronger friendships, are more satisfied at home and less materialistic. Theyre also likely to have greater self-esteem, give more emotional support to others, be more engaged in schoolwork and achieve higher grades.

People with an attitude of gratitude are more likely to recover faster from a setback. Seeing the brighter side of negative situations allows them to find the lesson and move on to count their blessings in other aspects of life.

People who express their gratitude for their friends, partner or loved ones are rewarded with more positive feelings and given more trust and respect. One study showed that expressing gratitude to a partner allowed a couple to feel more comfortable talking about relationship concerns and made them more forgiving and responsive to each others needs.

Being grateful isnt always easy. Attitude towards life can greatly depend on the environment in which people live, the people they associate with and the experiences theyve had. Stress also plays a major part in people feeling ungrateful for what they have or the situation theyre in.

But as Robert Emmons explains, Without gratitude, life can be lonely, depressing and impoverished. Gratitude enriches human life. It elevates, energizes, inspires and transforms. People are moved, opened and humbled through expressions of gratitude.

As gratitude is a chosen attitude, lets explore the ways in which it can most successfully incorporate into daily life.

Our expert on gratitude, Robert Emmons strongly believes that keeping a gratitude journal is one of the best ways of changing attitudes. He shares some research-based tips to help people benefit the most from their journal.

No need to get a fancy journal. Something as simple as an exercise book is fine, but if purchasing one specifically designed for gratitude, there are a number of great options below (affiliate links):

Jack Canfields Gratitude Journal: The Companion to Jack Canfields Key to Living the Law of AttractionGratitude Journal: Positive Thoughts & Vibration by You Daily Gratitude JournalGratitude Journal: 100 Days of Gratitude Will Change Your Life

Martin Seligman, the founding father of positive psychology, developed a simple, but highly effective exercise known as the gratitude visit. This exercise, found in his highly acclaimed book Flourish (affiliate link), promises to enhance well-being and reduce depression.

Martin Seligmans exercise:

Close your eyes. Call up the face of someone still alive who years ago did something or said something that changed your life for the better. Someone who you never properly thanked; someone you could meet face-to-face next week. Got a face?

Gratitude can make your life happier and more satisfying. When we feel gratitude, we benefit from the pleasant memory of a positive event in our life. Also, when we express our gratitude to others, we strengthen our relationship with them. But sometimes our thank you is said so casually or quickly that it is nearly meaningless. In this exercise you will have the opportunity to experience what it is like to express your gratitude in a thoughtful, purposeful manner.

Your task is to write a letter of gratitude to this individual and deliver it in person. The letter should be concrete and about three hundred words: be specific about what she did for you and how it affected your life. Let her know what you are doing now, and mention how you often remember what she did. Make it sing! Once you have written the testimonial, call the person and tell her youd like to visit her, but be vague about the purpose of the meeting; this exercise is much more fun when it is a surprise. When you meet her, take your time reading your letter.

You can read more about this exercise here.

Complaining seems to be a natural part of most peoples character, something many do several times a day without really noticing. Though it enables them to get things off their chest, complaining usually causes more harm than good and rarely yields a positive result. When people complain, theyre reinforcing negative emotions, re-living stress and frustration, and impacting their mood and self-esteem.

People can practice mindfulness and STOP when a negative thought presents or spiteful words start tumbling out their mouth and replace the negative dialogue with positive thoughts or words about the good things that have happened and things theyre (or should be) grateful for.

Visual reminders are great when first starting out. Magnets, posters and notes around the house are great ways to lose the negative attitude and refocus on the positives.

Giving or doing for others creates feelings of gratitude for the recipient and a sense of pride and happiness for the giver. Apart from the good feelings that are created when volunteering time or giving a gift, its also a way of seeing how fortunate we are compared to those being helping. People who experience someone elses misfortune often come away with strong feelings of gratitude for the things and people in their own lives.

Most people are conditioned to react negatively or question why me when something bad happens. But, people who practice gratitude are more likely to find the positives in a negative situation. Just because its not something that was planned or it causes unhappiness doesnt mean theres nothing good to be taken from it.

So, as you can see, a little time savouring the good things in life can lead us all to a much more positive state of mind with very powerful and life-changing outcomes.

Whats your favourite way to practise gratitude?

Author: Lisa Currie, Ripple Kindness ProjectLisa is the founder of Ripple Kindness Project, a community program andschool curriculum that aims to improve social, emotional and mental health, and reduce bullying by teaching and inspiring kindness.The ongoing, whole school primary curriculum teaches children about their emotions and the impact their words and actions have on others. It provides opportunities for children to be part of kindness activities, allowing them to experience the feel-good emotions kindness produces.

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An Attitude of Gratitude for Positive Mental Health and ...

The IHSAA Executive Committee presents the Arthur L. Trester & Ray Craft Mental Attitude Awards to the outstanding senior participant in each classification of the boys basketball state finals. The recipients of these awards, who were nominated by their principals and coaches, must excel in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability in basketball. The Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever, the presenting sponsors of the state tournament, donate a $1,000 scholarship to each school in the name of the recipient.

The 4A, 3A and 2A awards are named in honor of the late Arthur L. Trester who served as first commissioner of the Association from 1929 to 1944. Trester helped Indiana high school sports and the IHSAA emerge from the Great Depression in a position of preeminence unmatched by perhaps any other state in the nation.

Beginning in 2016, the Class A award was re-named in honor of Ray Craft, the long-time associate commissioner who served from 1983 to 2008. Craft was involved at nearly every level of Indiana secondary education and interscholastic athletics during his career including administering the boys basketball state tournament for many years. He was also a starting senior guard on Milan High Schools 1954 state championship basketball team.

From 1917 to 1943 the award was known as The Gimbel Medal for Mental Attitude in honor of Mr. Jake Gimbel of Vincennes, who awarded the medal each of those years until his passing prior to the 1943 tournament. In 1944, the award became known as the IHSAA Medal for Mental Attitude. In 1945, the IHSAA Board officially named the award The Arthur L. Trester Medal for Mental Attitude.

Recipients were given a medal each year from 1945 through 1964, hence The Arthur L. Trester Medal for Mental Attitude. Since 1965, the award has been made in the form of a plaque with a copy of the original medal incorporated on the face of the plaque, hence The Arthur L. Trester Award for Mental Attitude.

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IHSAA Basketball Mental Attitude Award

CHRISTINA PERSICO

Last updated16:50, September 5 2017

SIMON O'CONNOR/STUFF

Olivia Madgwick is delighted with her new trike and very grateful for all the support to help her buy it.

After completely losing her independence nearly three years ago, Olivia Madgwick is loving getting out on her own again on her new pink trike.

The 24-year-old went from living on her own since the age of sixteen to relying on others for her basic needs,after the discovery of a brain stem tumour.

But thanks to the generosity of about 90 people who contributed to her Givealittlepage to raise money for a specially adapted trike, she has got some of her independence back.

SIMON O'CONNOR/STUFF

Olivia Madgwick has her new trike that has given her a bit more freedom and independence to get out and about.

"I love it. I've got it back;I just haven't got it fully back yet."

READ MORE:*Brain cancer sufferer wants to inspire others to not give up hope*Bubbly 22-year-old woman discovers brain cancer after a fall*Cancer survivors to take on Round the Mountain Cycle Challenge

The pedal trike, from Trikes New Zealand in Levin, cost $6472.98 andwill help with her physical rehabilitation.It has also been specially modified with a motor.

SIMON O'CONNOR/STUFF

Olivia Madgwick is enjoying having her freedom back with her new pedal trike.

She has now had it for two weeks.

"It's not a cheap thing. It's more than a car.

"You can make it go up to 30 km/hr on the battery, and the battery can last to Opunake.

"It's an early birthday present to myself because my birthday was on Saturday."

She falls outside the age bracket for most trike funding options, so she wanted to thank all those who had contributed.

The trike has hand brakes and mirrors and also lights and flags to make her visible, as the rider sits quite close to the ground.

"I'm just getting used to pedalling on the cycle lane around cars. I'm sitting low."

It is also comfortable for her bad back, she said.

Madgwick underwent 31 radiation treatments and 4 chemotherapiesafter a concussion in late 2015 uncoveredshe was only days away from dying of medulloblastoma, a rare type of brain cancer which left her with a large tumour on her brain stem.

But she has been in remission since Marchand wants to encourage others as a children's author and motivational speaker. She has the letters P, M, and Atattooed on her wrist, reminding her to have a positive mental attitude.

She was the first person in New Zealand to have the brain stem cells removed from her body, cleansed and put back in. She still struggles with speaking and can only walk a few metres unaided, but is loving her new freedom.

She is also hoping to start going tosome kickboxing and zumba classes.

"I can get there myself. I mean it might take a bit of time but that's okay."

She's not planning on going on the open road, though.

"I do want to go and visit my grandad in Jean Sandel."

-Stuff

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Independence regained for cancer sufferer with new trike - Stuff.co.nz

To assist businesses with employee retention, the Litchfield Area Chamber of Commerce is offering a Wellness Series for administration, managers, front-line staff and wellness teams.

The sessions are designed for an employee or a team of employees to glean information that can be brought back to benefit all employees of an organization.

All classes are on Tuesdays from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Custom Products training room, 1715 Sibley Ave. S., Litchfield.

Michael Kiefer, a psychologist, author and motivational speaker, will lead each of the sessions:

For chamber members, the cost is $79 per person for per session, or $395 per person for the five-part series, with a group discount available. For nonmembers, the cost is $90 per person per session or $450 for the series.

By Juliana Thill, Crow River Business editor

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'Creating Great Places to Work' series focuses on wellness - Crow River Media

Shear awfulnessThe opening paragraph of Alan Shearers column in the best-selling newspaper in England

THERE is one way the England players can silence the boo boys that follow them and that is by playing a darn site better than on Friday night.

And yes, as of 11am on Monday, it is the same on the websight.

You Cescy thingMediawatch gave Football365s award-winning writer Daniel Storey ten guesses as to the identity of the best player in the Premier League so far this season as decided by The Suns Chief Football Reporter Neil Ashton and he foolishly reeled off a list of Manchester United and Liverpool players with the odd left-field choice of Aaron Mooy and Harry Maguire.

Having been given another ten guesses and instructions that it was a big club player but crucially from neither Manchester United nor Liverpool, he still did not come up with the correct answer.

How could he have possibly known that being sent off against Burnley, being suspended for the win over Tottenham and playing quite well against Everton would make Cesc Fabregas the best player in the Premier League so far this season?

But maybe Ashton was particularly impressed with Fabregas in the Community Shield? No, he called him anonymous.

And maybe Ashton believed that Chelsea had been unlucky against Burnley? Well no, he and this is Mediawatchs choice of the best hyperbole in the Premier League so far this season wrote that there is something sinister going on at Stamford Bridge.

So he has basically anointed Fabregas the nascent seasons best player because he was impressive against Everton (and because he wanted to make a point about Fabregas not even getting in Spains squad).

Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku, Nemanja Matic, Emre Can and Roberto Firmino all want a word.

We three kingsTalking of Romelu Lukaku, he is according toMailOnline one quarter of an awesome attacking force which they feel compelled to compare to all the other awesome attacking forces of past Manchester United teams.

After three whole Premier League games against West Ham, Swansea and Leicester City, Adam Shergold has given this 2017/18 strikeforce a danger rating of 9/10.

Which makes them loads better than the 7.5-rated double title-winning strikeforce of 1992-94 which featured Eric Cantona and Mark Hughes, miles better than the 2002-04 vintage that featured a 44-goal season from Ruud van Nistelrooy (they were only 7/10 dangerous), marginally better than the Robin van Persie/Wayne Rooney/Javier Hernandez trio of 2012/13 (8/10 dangerous) and already equal to the 2007-09 strikeforce featuring Ronaldo (68 goals across two seasons), Wayne Rooney (32) and Carlos Tevez (34).

After three games. He definitely hasnt got carried away.

As Shergold writes

While Ibrahimovic wont have a chance to replicate his stunning form of last season until December at the earliest, the other three have made flying startsRashford and Martial offer lightning pace, skill and a decent chance conversion rate, while Ibrahimovic really needs no introduction.

Marcus Rashford has scored one goal from nine shots.

Sale awayThe Daily Mails Charles Sale is a man with an agenda. An unstintingly negative agenda.

This is him on former sports psychiatrist Steve Peters no longer working with England, and it is his lead item on Monday under the heading of Are England mad to ditch mind coach?

England footballers have given up travelling with a dedicated sports psychiatrist at the very time when they look as if they could do with extra support for their mental attitude.

There are plenty of unappetising games, such as Fridays dire match in Malta, when it proves difficult to inspire maximum performance from the players just where a trusted psychiatrist could prove useful.

As Sale points out later in the same piece: Peters has disappeared from the set-up since the Hodgson regime ended in abject failure at Euro 2016.

So it turns out that England footballers actually have given up travelling with a dedicated sports psychiatrist at the very time when they they proved that extra support for their mental attitude was not working.

And here is Sale on Ryan Giggs snubbing Malta:

Ryan Giggs is well known in Malta due to the time he has spent on the island, starting from his early days at Manchester United.

He also invested in a hotel group there with Gary Neville.

Nevertheless Giggs, along with ITV colleagues Paul Ince, Ian Wright and Glenn Hoddle, chose to return home from Malta as soon as possible after the game on Friday even if it meant a 5.30am exit from their hotel on Saturday.

It took about 93 seconds for Mediawatch to find out that Giggs had come home early to attend the2017 FAW McDonalds Community Awards. But why would Sale do any research when he can remain ignorantly pompous?

Summing up SouthgateI was having some interaction with Julen Lopetegui at a game where he was saying how lucky I was to have Harry playing.

Two words: Middle and management.

You know its international week whenThe Daily Mirrors back-page headline is NOW YOURE GURNER BELIEVE US because they have some pictures of England players pulling faces.

F***s sake.

Kane and unableMediawatch is enjoying the big talk about Harry Kane being world class after his two goals against Malta, with The Suns Charlie Wyett among those writing that with ten goals in 20 games, Kane has compared his scoring record to that of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the early stages of their international career.

Tiny point: Ronaldo and Messi had in the early stages of their international career scored semi-final goals to reach the finals of a European Championship and a Copa America. Meanwhile, Harry Kane played four games at Euro 2016, scored no goals and looked generally pretty pony.

Lets hold those horses, eh.

Recommended reading of the dayAlex Stewart on changing football in MalawiJeremy Alexander on Exeter and Newport CountyMichael Cox on the most intriguing transfers

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Mediawatch: The Premier League's best player so far - Football365.com