About this web site
This web site will guide you through a workable concept of what mental health is, how to improve it and how to manage the anxiety that is bound to compromise it on occasion. It also explains how mental health is far more than simply the absence of mental illness.
The companion blogsite www.AwarenessofMentalHealth.com, will be your place to comment on your experience with the ideas found here in “Pathways.” It is also the place for questions or concerns about any aspect of using intrinsic behavioral goals (inbornintentions), basic beliefs or anxiety management to optimize your own mental health, but bear in mind that both sites are educational and informative, not therapeutic.
Mental health is a beautiful thing
Those with healthy mental health have a positive self-concept, they make adaptive choices, achieve their objectives, their relationships are meaningful and the anxiety they experience is manageable. In short, they are happy.
Those with poor mental health have a negative view of themselves, they are limited in their choices, accomplish far below their potential, their relationships are problematic and their life seems to be mainly an exercise in managing anxiety. These folks live with emotional misery.
The purpose of this blog is to help you move towards optimum mental health.
What this site offers
Let me tell you what you can expect to find here:
- A definition of mental health. Mental health is far more than simply the absence of mental illness since it involves every aspect of your relationship with yourself, other people, society and the environment. The definition of mental health found here includes the concept of inbornintentions, which are our intrinsic behavioral goals. Understanding inbornintentions will require some thinking on your part, but once you are familiar with the concept, it provides a foundation for improving mental health.
- How basic beliefs are the pathways that move you either towards or away from inbornintentions. It will be important to understand precisely how this mechanism works.
- How anxiety inhibits progress towards inbornintentions and optimum mental health, and you will learn ways to prevent or reduce it. Consider anxiety as a series of potholes on the paths to mental health that need to be avoided for success.
An important challenge
Understanding is better than simply following instructions, directions or suggestions, but it requires time and effort. This blog is designed to help you establish optimum mental health by understanding the concepts of inbornintentions, basic beliefs and anxiety. This, as you will see, may be quite a challenge, so be prepared to spend the time and mental effort required. If you are looking for bumper-sticker advice or quick and easy solutions, you will need to look elsewhere.
Disclaimer
This is an educational, self-help blog and the author does not offer personal advice/suggestions in the posts themselves or in response to posts. For the small percentage of readers who may need help with issues of concern, please see a licensed mental health professional, preferably one familiar with inbornintentions, basic beliefs and anxiety.
About your questions and concerns
As you progress through the material in this series of posts, you may encounter points about which you have a question or with which you disagree. At the end of each post you will have an opportunity to submit a question or offer a different point of view, and these will be welcome as they will help me explain a concept better or to see it more clearly myself. These insights will be useful when the post is revised.
A question for you to consider
What is appealing to you when you think about the possibility of improving your own mental health?
The next step
“The next step” section of each post will guide you through the 14 basic posts that comprise this blog. Please follow these in the order suggested to insure that you are familiar with the author’s concepts and occasional nonstandard use of words and terms.
Go to:
Foundations of Mental Health
