Psychological health: concepts, criteria and levels

The article presents the definition of the concept of psychological health as a set of mental properties of an individual that contribute to the harmonization between the needs of a person and society, which is a prerequisite for the orientation of an individual towards the fulfillment of his own life tasks and self-actualization. The structural components of the phenomenon of psychological health and its signs are also highlighted, in particular, self-respect, a sense of personal security, stress resistance, social adaptability, acceptance of values, and the need for self-realization. Thus, it is noted that an important manifestation of the psychological health of an individual is stress resistance, that is, the ability to overcome stressful situations without harming one's own health. A psychologically healthy person is able to overcome difficult life situations without mental worries, apathy, inactivity, such a person is able to withstand the difficulties that arise. The main characteristic of a psychologically healthy person is self-regulation – this is the ability to adequately adapt to favorable and unfavorable environmental conditions. Disruption of psychological health is influenced by external causes, which include the negative influence of other people, strained relations with society. The second group of factors includes internal causes – this is the impact of certain mental disorders on processes that develop normally, this is an unstable emotional background that can negatively affect the cognitive sphere. The article outlines that a psychologically healthy person who has stress resistance is able to independently find the strength to adapt even to uncomfortable conditions, while preserving both his own health and the health of others. A mentally healthy person can find in crisis situations an incentive for personal growth, and on the other hand, can avoid excessively high physical, psychological and informational loads. The article also presents research on psychological inflexibility, which can affect psychological health.