What Factors Contribute to My Unique Flavor of Mental Health?
It is important to understand that many factors affect an individual’s mental health and the debate over whether it is “nature or nurture” has been, for the most part, replaced with a more inclusive perspective that suggestions many factors contribute to our unique flavor of mental health. It is also widely accepted that while a number of factors affect mental health, no one factor causes mental health. As you will notice from the below descriptions of factors, mental health concerns are not related to “thinking too much and going crazy” or “being weak or a sissy and not knowing how to deal”. Here are some of the more influential factors that contribute to our mental health:
Mental Health Factors
- Genetics
- Emotions, thoughts, behaviors, and an individual’s temperament are affected by genetics and family history. While genes are critical in an individual’s development it is also widely understood that “there is no gene for mental health” or “gene for depression”. Also know that expression of genes is strongly influenced by behaviors.
- Physical Health
- Aspects related to one’s physical health can directly impact one’s mental health. For example, when you get sick (flu, headache) you often feel psychological changes and might experience a period of sadness, anxiety, or frustration. Additionally, diabetes and hypothyroidism represent physical conditions and, if untreated, can sometimes manifest with anxiety or depressive symptoms. We also know that infections, brain damage, injury, and prenatal circumstances can impact an individual’s mental health.
- Nutrition and Exposure to Toxins
- What we put in our bodies can impact how we feel, think, and behave in the world. We know that an overconsumption of alcohol, drugs, and other toxins can adversely affect the brain and contribute to personality changes, such as depression and anxiety.
- Psychological Factors
- Psychological factors strong influence of our mental health and some of the more noticeable contributors include ways of understanding life situations, including stressors or traumatic events during one’s development. How we make meaning from our life experiences is equally important and some research has shown that no two people will experience the same psychological experience from an identical situation.
- Social and Contextual Factors
- The presence and/or absence of family and peer relationships are important to consider when understanding mental health concerns. As humans, we are social beings and inconsistent or unstable relationships can greatly impact our mental health and overall trust of others. Contextual factors such as racism, heterosexism, sexism, and religious discrimination, just to name a few, are serious stressors and have the capacity to impact not only the mental health of an individual, but an entire community.
Student Health Services
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Anna M. Gove Student Health Center, 107 Gray Drive 27412
Greensboro, NC 27402-6170
VOICE 336.334.5340
FAX 336.334.5343
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Anna M. Gove Student Health Center, 107 Gray Drive 27412
Greensboro, NC 27402-6170
VOICE 336.334.5340
FAX 336.334.5343