MENTAL HEALTH

Mental Health DEFINITION

How can you tell whether a mental health issue is normal or not? It's tricky. The line between normal and abnormal mental health is often blurred. Still, it's helpful to consider your feelings, thoughts and behavior in relation to cultural norms and other benchmarks.

Often, anger management is a key aspect of mental health. Expressed appropriately, anger can be healthy. In fact, anger itself isn't the problem — it's how you handle it. Consider whether you might benefit from new ways to manage anger.

Mental health also includes issues such as self-esteem, relationships and resilience. If you're struggling with self-esteem, denial or other mental health issues, remember that help is available. To find a mental health provider, ask your family doctor for a referral.

Healthy Relationships

Healthy relationships with family, friends and other loved ones can be a great source of support, comfort and love. Still, healthy relationships don't necessarily happen by themselves. Often, healthy relationships require compromise and forgiveness. When someone you care about hurts you, you can hold on to anger, resentment and thoughts of revenge — or you can embrace forgiveness and move forward.

Sometimes, honest communication is all it takes to weather relationship crises and maintain healthy relationships. In other cases, family therapy or other types of counseling can be helpful.

If a relationship becomes abusive, it's important to take action. Seek help or advice as soon as you safely can — and look forward to a future with the healthy relationships you deserve.

Healthy at work

Staying healthy at work makes it easier to do your job. For many people, staying healthy at work begins with proper office space ergonomics — such as correct chair height, proper equipment spacing and good posture.

For others, staying healthy at work means preventing back pain and injuries. The best bet? Exercise regularly — even if your job keeps you moving. Better yet, consider ways to include physical activity and gentle stretching in your workday. Strong and flexible muscles help keep your back in shape.

If your job involves travel, staying healthy at work might mean fitting in a workout while you're away from home.

Staying healthy at work also extends to your mental health and family life. Consider strategies to boost job satisfaction, improve work-life balance and prevent job burnout.