There are things that are not really mental health, even if they are not even a very decaffeinated or low-cost concept of mental health, but actually speak to us of survival.
If we take as a reference what the WHO defined as mental health in its founding act, it is easy to realise that, without malicious intent and probably without being aware of it, in the media, in professional forums, even in presentations by insurance companies and specialists, when they talk about mental health they basically talk about bad thoughts, anxiety, depression, violence, etc., when in reality it is something much broader.
The concept of mental health in its original version is the one defined by the WHO in its founding act in 1948 as "a state of well-being in which each individual develops his or her potential, can cope with the stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and can contribute something to his or her community".
Moreover, according to the founding act of the WHO, health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
Are we better off now than we were in the Industrial Revolution?
Before migration to urban areas during the Industrial Revolution, the family was the lifeblood of the community because it was a basic unit of working together and because it was structured in a way that provided mutual support among family members, not only for their children, but also had the task of caring for their sick and elderly.
Later, in the cities, there was overcrowding and sharing of rooms. Wages were not enough and first children were put to work for poverty wages, and then women were put to work in the backbreaking shifts, and so the care of the sick and the elderly was broken down. The concentration of machines, capital and wealth was accelerated, but accompanied by greater access to basic education, which had previously been non-existent, etc.
In reality, then, if we take the focus away from Europe, they would be aspects that are not so opposite to those that persist today in many parts of our planet.
Perhaps the most palpable, differential and very important current improvements compared to then are health and safety conditions in the workplace and non-exploitation (although they persist in many places), the increase in life expectancy and, therefore, a spectacular increase in consumption.
But it would not be right to forget that there used to be ties within the family unit and with the community. Nor would it be right to consider that the physical fatigue of hours and hours of work in totally unhealthy conditions is far worse than the poor mental health and physical fatigue and psychological conditions of many employees today.
We should not dismiss or minimise all this by thinking that we are much better off than we were in the Industrial Revolution, as this would detract from the very serious effects of poor mental health.
Actuality and mental health
A ruminating mind wandering for hours and hours all day and night, thinking and visualising problems and threats, leads in the case of thousands and thousands of people in our country to the taking of anxiolytics (often even used as a permanent remedy). Or even in more sporadic cases, it suddenly ends in suicide (without anyone noticing).
Without having to go to such extremes, a life lived in this way can be extremely long
This is why the battle for full mental health is primarily played out in the field of emotions, values, attitudes and authenticity. Not in the cognitive field!
It is very difficult to overcome a mental health problem from the mind. We need others, we need a connection with something and someone, we need to feel "part of".
From the mind is complicadísimo surpass a problem of mental health. We need of the others, of a connection with something and somebody, feel us "part of".