What Is Good Mental Health?
Good mental health, like good physical health, is important to human wellbeing. But what does it mean to be in a state of good mental health?
First, good mental health is more than just the absence of diagnosable mental illness. In fact, people with mental illness, just like people with physical illness, can cope with their disease or infirmity and have periods of relatively good health as they move toward recovery.
Second, good mental health goes beyond feelings of happiness and contentment. Positive emotions are wonderful to experience, but they are rarely a constant in life. People experience setbacks, challenges, and trauma over the course of their lives, and a realistic definition of good mental health needs to include the range of emotions people actually feel.
A better way to think about good mental health is as a form of emotional resilience. Just as a person in good physical health can be tired and have sore muscles after a period of intense physical exertion, so a person in good mental health is able to feel pain and sadness after a setback or loss, then return to emotional stability—not right away, perhaps, but in time and with support.
People with good mental health are able to
- Appropriately express and modulate their emotions
- Empathize with others and maintain good relationships
- Give and accept emotional support
- Cope with uncertainty, adverse events, and the normal stresses of life
When you are in good mental health, you are able to appreciate the good aspects of life and feel the pain of life's disappointments and losses. Except in the worst of times, you are to able work productively, contribute to your community, and realize your potential. While people's physical health tends to get more of their attention, mental health is just as important to their wellbeing.
Morgan, H. (Revised 2025 [Ed.]). What is good mental health? (B. Schuette & C. Meeker, Eds.). Raleigh, NC: Workplace Options.