INTRODUCTION According to World Health Organization (2004), mental
health is “a state of well-being in which the individual
Psychology tackles behavior and mental processes. realizes his or her abilities, can cope with the normal
Because of this, it has different fields under its umbrella, stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and
with different expertise. One of its roots is research. can contribute to his or her community”. Mentally
Through research, psychology has blossomed into healthy adults have successful mental functions, fulfilling
different fields and has given the world different theories relationships, productive activities, and a capacity for
and concepts to understand a person (even animals) and adaptation.
to help the improvement of our lives. Recently, Positive
Psychology, another subfield, has been emerging. The main goal of positive psychology is to achieve
flourishing. It is a state of optimal mental health. Another
Before World War II (1939-1945), psychology’s distinct concept in positive psychology is languishing, the
missions are to (1) cure mental illness, (2) nurture talent, absence of mental health. It is more prevalent than
and (3) make people happier. major depression disorder. It is described as quiet
despair, and people feel “hollow”, or “empty”.
Historically speaking, the focus of psychology is to cure
mental illness. Before the age of scientific inquiry, people To attain flourishing, or to achieve optimal mental health,
with abnormal behavior were believed to be possessed positive psychology gives us the PERMA-V Model. The
by evil spirits, or that they were witches. Another idea is that when these six things are present in our lives,
perspective by Hippocrates, in the 5th century, was that we will attain flourishing.
people had too much blood, or phlegm, or bile. When the
soldiers went home when World War II ended, POSITIVITY
psychologists were busy treating the trauma soldiers got
from the war. Because it was and still is a hard process of A mentally healthy person thinks more positively and
curing mental illness, psychologists took a long time to experiences more positive emotions than negative
achieve this first mission. Fortunately, with this time and emotions. They consistently think good and feel good.
age, we can now manage mental disorders through Negativity is important for survival and adaptation but
counseling, therapy, and medication. positivity has benefits too.
It seems that it is only recently that the field focused on What are the health benefits of positive thinking?
the second and third missions. How to nurture talent? • Increased life span
How can we make people happy? How can we teach • Lower rates of depression
them to be resilient despite the happenings in the world? • Lower rates of distress
How can we manage our emotions? So, with countless • Greater resistance to a common cold
interactions with people, a very long time trying to • Better psychological and physical well-being
understand a person, and lots of research, positive • Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease
psychology is born. • Better coping skills during hardships and
stress
POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY AND MENTAL HEALTH
Positive Psychology is the scientific study of happiness, Optimists are people who expect good things to
well-being, and flourishing. It is also the study of happen to them; pessimists are people who expect
strengths and virtues that enable individuals, bad things to happen to them. Seligman invites
organizations, and communities to flourish. Former pessimists to learn to be optimists being mindful
American Psychological Association president Dr. Martin about the way they think about events and by
E.P. Seligman is one of the pillars of Positive Psychology. “learning” optimism.
His earlier works focused on learned hopelessness- a
phenomenon whereby individuals believe they are ENGAGEMENT
incapable of changing their circumstances after
repeatedly experiencing a stressful event. However, since It is important in our lives to be able to find activities that
psychology is dynamic, his works are now focused on take our full engagement. Engagement in the activities in
learned optimism – that people can learn and cultivate a our lives is important for us to learn, grow, and nurture
positive mindset. Positive psychology can also be our happiness.
explained as “removing the weeds, planting the seeds.”
We all need something in our lives that entirely absorbs The most dangerous zone is your comfort zone. Our
us into the present moment, creating a ‘flow’ of blissful comfort zone is a beautiful place because there is
immersion into the task or activity. This type of ‘flow’ of security, habit, and survival, but nothing ever grows here.
engagement is important to stretch our intelligence,
skills, and emotional capabilities. A study by Angela Duckworth found out that grit, passion,
and perseverance for long-term goals, are the
RELATIONSHIP (Positive Relationship) characteristics of people of become successful in their
journey. It is not IQ, social intelligence, or physical health
What makes us happy is the lasting and positive that make these students continue their education, it is
relationships with the people around us, people we love grit. Students who have higher grit remain in school until
and respect. Living in a negative or toxic relationship has they graduate.
deleterious effects on our health, personal happiness,
and life expectancy. VITALITY
Vitality is approaching life with excitement and energy;
MEANING
not doing things halfway or halfheartedly; living life as an
adventure; and feeling alive and activated. In both the
Having meaning is like having a compass that provides
physical and mental sense, vitality refers to a feeling of
direction and a sense of purpose.
aliveness. In the physical sense, this vitality refers to
feeling healthy, capable, and energetic. Psychologically,
Research shows that relationships are usually seen as the
this state of aliveness brings a sense that one's actions
most important source of meaning in life (Emmons,
have meaning and purpose.
2003). But we also find meaning by engaging in a creative
endeavor (Frankl, 1996) or attaining personal goals that
We can achieve this through:
we have set for ourselves. Meaning also happens when
• Stay active
we ignite our character strengths and virtue beyond
• Eat healthy
ourselves (Seligman, 2011). This is often termed as self-
• Meditate
transcendence.
• Savor the moment
• Good rest and sleep
And, a sense of meaning is achieved when we can reflect
• Anticipate future joys
upon and grow from negative experiences or suffering
(Frankl, 1963).
ACHIEVEMENT
Having explicit goals in life, even small ones like reading
for an hour every day, and making efforts to achieve them
are important to our well-being.
Achievement builds self-belief and strengthens self-
esteem. When we ask what makes for a happy,
fulfilling, and meaningful life, we usually discuss our
life goals, wishes, and dreams.