REFLECTIONS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH

What characterized people who have developed their psychological health to their highest potential?  The following discussion suggests three areas in which psychological health is evident.  These include (1) movement toward fulfilling the highest level of need (as defined by Maslow), (2) development of a mature level of spirituality, and (3) expression of creativity.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow has been among the significant contributors to the understanding of personality and psychological health.  Central to Maslow’s contribution to twentieth century American psychological thought is his view of psychological health in terms of the individual’s attempt to meet inner needs, what he called the hierarchy of needs.

Maslow’s theory is a positive, optimistic theory of human behavior.  He believed that people are motivated to grow and fulfill their potential, referring to this phenomenon as self-actualization.  He describe self-actualization as “the need to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming.  Maslow differentiated between two different categories of needs: basic needs and metaneeds.  Basic needs, physiological needs, belonging and love, and esteem needs are the deficiency needs and are essential and urgent.  Meta needs come into play once the basic needs are met and include spirituality, creativity, curiosity, beauty, philosophy, and justice.  Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is arranged with the basic needs on the bottom, as they are the most fundamental and powerful needs.  Lower level needs must be met before the next level of needs can be satisfied.  Maslow believed that the fulfillment of metaneeds is needed to become a completely developed human being.  left unfulfilled, people can become cynical, apathetic and lonely.

Maslow arrived at this model by examining what he considered to be exceptionally healthy people, people he defined as having developed to their fullest potentials.  Self-actualized people that Maslow identified included Albert Einstein, Albert Schweitzer, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.  He perceived these people to share similar personality characteristics such as being comfortable with themselves, having a strong ethical and moral code of conduct, innovative, compassionate, altruistic, goal oriented, and internally motivated.

Spiritual Health

Having a sense of purpose, direction, and awareness are some of the dimensions of spiritual health.  This aspect of psychological health also refers to how well we integrate our beliefs and values with our behavior.  People with spiritual health seek meaning and purpose in their lives and have a deep appreciation for a sense of unity and community.  Spiritual health also include one’s morals, ethics, intrinsic values, and beliefs.  It also refers to an awareness and appreciation of the vastness of the universe, and recognition of a dimension beyond the natural and rational, involving perhaps a belief in a force greater than oneself.  Spirituality has been found to increase well-being, increased satisfaction with life, lower anxiety and depressive symptoms, less hostility and anger, and greater happiness in general.  Similarly, spirituality has also been related to better physical health.  Studies have shown that no matter how spirituality was defined or measured, it has a positive effect on reducing coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, cancer, and increasing life expectancy.

As a resource for the spiritual dimension of health, spirituality provides a basis on which a belief system can mature and an expanding awareness of life’s meaning can be fostered.  Spirituality also gives meaning to your career and helps you better understand the consequences of your vocational efforts.  In addition, spirituality influences many of the experiences that you will seek throughout life and tempers your emotional response to these experiences.

In nearly all cultures, spirituality provides individuals and groups with rituals and practices that foster a sense of community – “a community of faith.”  In turn, the community nurtures the emotional stability, confidence, and sense of competence needed for living life fully.

Creative Expression

Another characteristic of people who developed their psychological health is creativity.  Allowing yourself to express your thoughts, feelings, and individuality in a creative manner entails having self-confidence, self-esteem, and flexibility.  Confidence and self-esteem are essential so that you don’t feel embarrassed by your creativity and feel free to share your creative side with others.  Children can easily do this when they draw a picture or make up a dance and say, “Look at me.  Look at what I made.”  However, as we age, some of us become inhibited and don’t allow ourselves to be creative or to share this part of ourselves.  Like muscles, if you don’t exercise your creative side, it can begin to atrophy.

What are some resources that you might need to develop in order to foster your creativity?

·         Nonconformity.  Creative individuals aren’t terribly concerned about what other people think of them.  They are willing to risk looking foolish or proposing ideas that are divergent from others or traditional ways of thinking.

·       Independence.  Highly creative people tend to work well alone and sometimes prefer this to working in a group.  As children, they often were encouraged to solve problems on their own rather than having someone else to do so for them.

·         Motivation.  Creative a motivated by intrinsic rather than external rewards, meaning they like to be creative for their own pleasure, not to please others or because it is expected of them.  They don’t fear failure and success is not the main goal.  They enjoy creativity for creativity’s sake alone and not reap rewards or praise from others.

·         Curiosity.  Creative people have a wide range of interests and a broad base of knowledge.  They are open to new experiences and question things that other people ignore or take for granted.

·         Persistence.  This is seen as one of the most important traits of a creative person.  As Thomas Edison said, “genius is one-tenth inspiration and nine-tenths perspiration.”  Persistence requires not giving up when your first efforts are not successful and continually to think of new ways of doing something, problem solving, or thinking “outside of the box.”

Some people reviewing the preceding list may recognize many of these characteristics as being already well developed in their own personalities.  Others may not have demonstrated some of the traits listed, and they may appear far beyond their reach.  Nevertheless, most people can increase their creativity by giving themselves permission to be creative.  Some people state, “I’m not a creative person” and yet they haven’t explored that part of their personality, perhaps since childhood.  There are many avenues of creativity and the first step is to experiment, to be open and spontaneous.  In this way, you can gain greater psychological health from accessing your inner strength and resources.