The health of the human mind (psyche) is much more difficult to establish than the well-being of the body. How we deal with people and the world around us says a lot about our ability to cope with the ups and downs of life, but whether it exposes the secret world of unconscious motivations is another matter.

It is how people deal with the stresses and the intensity of feelings that is important. This depends on an innate ability (nature) as well as the psychological responses learned during the growing up process (nurture).

Psychological problems and their causes

• There are many signs of psychological problems. There may be a marked personality change or simply an inability to cope. Some people may have strange, grandiose or obsessive ideas.
• A prolonged period of depression and apathy, as well as marked changes in eating or sleeping patterns may also be indications of psychological problems.
• Thinking or talking about suicide, extreme emotional highs and lows and the abuse of alcohol or drugs are signs of psychological difficulties, as are excessive outbursts of anger, hostility or violent behavior.
• Psychological problems have various origins, which can be placed in a number of categories. An individual’s life history is an important factor in the development of psychological problems. It is when people are young that they develop their basic assumptions of others and themselves, as well as their strategies for coping with life.

These strategies need continual updating – a strategy that may have been appropriate at the age of five is no longer useful at the age of 40. Sometimes people cling to outmoded and detrimental strategies that then lead to difficulties in current relationships and eventually to psychological and emotional distress.

In general, a healthy mind implies being content with yourself. For healthy people, on the whole, life has meaning and fulfillment. They have friends and family to whom they can express thoughts and emotions. They do not fear change and are always ready to learn. Amid the stresses and strains of everyday life they are able to enjoy themselves. A healthy mind is one that can deal with both positive and negative events, from getting married to a death in the family. It is normal to feel frustration as well as happiness, or anger as well as joy.

• Some people have a genetic propensity to psychological problems. This could be due to the way in which their brain is formed or because they easily produce excess stress hormones, making them more likely to be susceptible to stressful life events. Physical ill-health can affect a person’s psychological well-being, too. Seriously ill people may become depressed or anxious. This in turn can affect their physical health, slowing their recovery and possibly making them more depressed – and so the cycle continues.
• Situational factors can negatively influence psychological well-being – for example, living in a socially deprived area with frequent vandalism and drug abuse. Trauma, such as a car accident or physical attack, or even the witnessing of a traumatic event, can produce adverse reactions that can lead to post-traumatic stress. Loss and bereavement, while a natural part of life, can also affect people’s psychological health and while all societies have rituals in place to facilitate the grieving process some people find it very difficult to come to terms with their loss.
• Cultural factors can affect the person’s sense of identity and belonging and can have a direct effect on individual’s sense of psychological well-being. For example, people from immigrant populations encounter more psychosocial problems than those in the dominant culture.
• Each category can produce psychological problems on its own, but it is usually when there are two or more factors that psychological “disease” takes hold. For instance, if someone has had a very difficult early life, he or she may respond more negatively to a traumatic event than someone who has had stable, loving childhood. However, people’s reactions are unpredictable. Someone with a difficult early life, for example, may have learned at an early age to cope with trauma and so manage better than the person with a stable background who has not encountered any traumatic events.