Mental health is a term used to describe either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder.About.com (2006, July 25). What is Mental Health?. Retrieved June 1, 2007, from http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/stressmanagement/a/whatismental.htmPrinceton University. (Unknown last update). Retrieved June 1, 2007, from http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=mental%20health From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and efforts to achieve psychological resilience.

The World Health Organization defines mental health as ""a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.” It was previously stated that there was no one "official" definition of mental health. Cultural differences, subjective assessments, and competing professional theories all affect how "mental health" is defined.World Health Report 2001 - Mental Health: New Understanding, New Hope, World Health Organization, 2001

History

In the mid-19th century, William Sweetzer was the first to clearly define the term "mental hygiene", which can be seen as the precurser to contemporary approaches to work on promoting positive mental health.Johns Hopkins University. (2007). Origins of Mental Health. Retrieved June 1, 2007, from http://www.jhsph.edu/dept/mh/about/origins.html Isaac Ray, one of thirteen founders of the American Psychiatric Association, further defined mental hygiene as an art to preserve the mind against incidents and influences which would inhibit or destroy its energy, quality or development.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Clifford Beers founded the National Committee for Mental Hygiene and opened the first outpatient mental health clinic in the United States.Clifford Beers Clinic. (2006, October 30). About Clifford Beers Clinic. Retrieved June 1, 2007, from http://www.cliffordbeers.org/aboutus.htm

Mental wellbeing

Mental health can be seen as a continuum, where an individual's mental health may have many different possible values. Mental wellness is generally viewed as a positive attribute, such that a person can reach enhanced levels of mental health, even if they do not have any diagnosable mental health condition. This definition of mental health highlights emotional well-being, the capacity to live a full and creative life, and the flexibility to deal with life's inevitable challenges. Many therapeutic systems and self-help books offer methods and philosophies espousing strategies and techniques vaunted as effective for further improving the mental wellness of otherwise healthy people. Positive psychology is increasingly prominent in mental health.