A state of complete physical, spiritual and social well-being. What is social well-being

Mental states are necessary for a person to successfully carry out various types of activities. In psychology, they are classified on various grounds, the most popular among which is the energy expenditure of the individual. A person’s mental state has a direct impact on the overall functioning of the nervous system, organically fitting into the general construct of personality.

Having a general understanding of the functioning of the psyche and its impact on the performance of a person is necessary in order to be able to manage one’s emotions and maintain the functioning of the nervous system. This knowledge will be relevant both for schoolchildren and students, as well as for adults engaged in intellectual or physical labor in an enterprise.

Definition of mental state

To understand how to formulate a definition of a mental state, you need to turn to the study of the biological and psychophysiological principles of the nervous system.

In psychology, the features of mental life are considered a category of the general methodology of science, which determines the features of the activity of a particular individual. The variety of phenomena in the emotional sphere as an object of scientific research was first discovered in the works of N.D. Levitova.

In theoretical articles, the author defined the state of a person’s mental sphere as a peculiar feature of the psyche, reflecting the work of the nervous system, supporting his judgments with empirical results. At the same time, the researcher draws the reader’s attention to the fact that conclusions about the current emotional status of an individual at the time of his study must be made based on events that happened to him recently. At the same time, the scientist does not deny that tragic events of the past can make themselves felt many years later, when a person, it would seem, no longer remembers them. It follows that signs of a mental state increase or decrease the efficiency of the body.

The psychological state is the basis for mastering the norms and rules of behavior of an individual in society. They occupy an intermediate position between personality traits and processes such as voluntary attention, short-term and long-term memory, logical thinking, imagination, and speech. In labor psychology, this phenomenon is taken into account when preparing a personnel reserve for representatives of different professions.

Examples of mental states are moods, feelings and emotions, as well as sleep and wakefulness. The stages of development of mental states are determined by the predominance of processes of inhibition or excitation in the nervous system.

Basic mental states. Properties of mental states

The most common and typical mental states inherent in most people in their daily and professional life are the following states:

Optimal working condition – ensures maximum performance of activities taking place at an average pace and intensity.

Properties of the state: increased concentration, active thinking, sharpened memory and the presence of a goal.

A state of intense work activity – occurs when working in extreme conditions.

Properties of the condition: mental stress caused by the presence of a goal of increased importance or increased requirements, strong motivation to achieve the desired result, increased activity of the entire nervous system.

The state of professional interest plays a vital role in job performance.

Properties of the state: conscious significance of professional activity, desire and desire to learn as much information as possible about the work being performed, concentration of attention on objects that are associated with the activity. In a number of cases, there is an activation of creative potential, a sharpening of perception, an increased ability to repeat what has already been learned, and an increased power of imagination.

Monotonia is a condition that develops under long-term and regularly repeated loads of medium or low intensity, as well as under repeated monotonous information.

Properties of the state: indifference, decreased concentration, boredom, impaired perception of received information.

Fatigue is a state of temporary decrease in performance that occurs during prolonged and high loads. Associated with exhaustion of the body.

Properties of the condition: decreased motivation to work, dysfunction of memory and attention, increased processes of central nervous system inhibition.

Stress is a state of prolonged and increased tension, which is associated with a person’s inability to adapt to the demands of the environment. Here, environmental factors play a major role, exceeding the human body’s ability to adapt.

Properties of the condition: mental stress, feelings of anxiety, ill-being, often apathy and indifference. In addition, the adrenaline reserves that the body needs are depleted.

A state of relaxation is a state of recuperation, relaxation and calm that occurs during autogenic training or, for example, prayers or reading mantras, etc. The main reason for this condition is the cessation of any strenuous activity by a person at all.

Properties of the state: a feeling of warmth spreading throughout the body, a feeling of peace and relaxation at the physiological level.

The sleep state is a special mental state characterized by the disconnection of a person’s consciousness from external reality. It is interesting that the sleep state has two distinct phases that constantly alternate - slow-wave sleep and fast-moving sleep. Both of them can often be considered as independent mental states. And the process of sleep itself is associated with the need to systematize the flows of information that were received during wakefulness, as well as the body’s need to restore its resources.

Properties of the state: loss of consciousness, immobility, temporary activity of various parts of the nervous system.

The state of wakefulness is the opposite of the state of sleep. In a calm form, it can manifest itself in activities such as, for example, watching a movie, reading a book, listening to music. In a more active form it manifests itself in physical exercises, work, walks, etc.

Properties of the state: average activity of the nervous system, absence of pronounced emotions (in a calm state) or, conversely, violent emotions (in an active state).

Let us repeat that the above mental states are typical for most people. Any relationship between these conditions, as well as the dynamics of the process of their development, are of utmost importance, both in a person’s ordinary life and in his professional activities.

Based on this, mental states can be safely called one of the subjects of study in various areas of psychological science, such as general psychology, developmental psychology, personality psychology, psychology of motivation or occupational psychology.

Throughout time, people have tried to understand the essence of mental states, and these attempts do not stop even in our time. The reason for this is, perhaps, that a person and the characteristics of his personality are a great mystery both for ordinary people and for scientific minds. And one cannot help but say that today enormous progress has been made in the study of human personality, which boldly continues its path forward. But it is likely that this riddle will never be completely solved, because nature in any of its forms is truly incomprehensible.

We also recommend reading:

Storytelling
The need-information theory of P. V. Simonov
Temperament types
Methods of mental self-regulation
Ability to understand emotional state
Feelings, emotions and sensations: the first step to profiling
Mental processes: types and brief description
Thanatotherapy: would you like to sleep in a coffin?
Bipolar disorder: definition, causes, episodes, treatment
How to learn to change your condition
Eric Berne "People Who Play Games" - summary

Key words:1Self-knowledge

Categorization criteria

It is customary to divide psychological experiences into independent categories according to such basic characteristics as:

the source of their occurrence (they are born internally under the influence of a person’s thoughts or are formed as a result of the influence of external factors);
degree of awareness (formed in the unconscious layer, in the preconscious or in the conscious layer of the psyche);
duration (short-term, medium-term or long-term);
degree of severity (barely noticeable, medium severity, pronounced);
emotional background (positive or negative);
area of manifestation (behavior, work activity, mood, will, motivation).

Special (altered) states of consciousness

Special states of consciousness include those in which unusually vivid internal impressions are accentuated in the consciousness, and the surrounding reality fades into the background, into the “background”. Mental processes proceed differently and change. Among the special states of consciousness it is appropriate to include ecstasy, trance, including that caused by meditation, as well as a hypnotic state. Susceptibility to special states of consciousness is especially high when the individual has a tendency to absorption.

Absorption (lat. absorptio - absorption) - a state of increased suggestibility; susceptibility to psychological influence from outside. Absorption facilitates easy falling into altered states of consciousness (hypnosis, drug intoxication, trance state). Absorption is associated with weakness and mobility of the nervous system. In ordinary situations, it manifests itself in a tendency to fantasize and be easily attracted to new ideas.

Ecstasy (Greek extasis - admiration) is an overexcited emotional state, the cause of which is a change in the values of the surrounding world. Unlike affect, ecstasy has nothing to do with overcoming obstacles. Moreover, the situation is viewed by the person as favorable. Emotions carry away and take over a person so much that he almost completely loses control of the mind (thinking). The intensity of passions, delight and happiness sometimes reaches the point of frenzy, threatening to turn into its complete opposite (depression, aggression). Physical activity varies from a state of stupor to a state of frenzy (the person goes into a frenzy). During the period of ecstasy, there is detachment from reality, the boundaries between external and internal are blurred, and real external sensations are ignored. Under the influx of emotions, sometimes pictures and images (dreams) appear, usually inaccessible to consciousness, and therefore new. Elements of ecstasy are observed during orgasm, in some ways vaguely reminiscent of intoxication.

A normal individual can enter a state of ecstasy either unconsciously, spontaneously following a certain behavior (for example, in rhythmic dances, in religious rituals), or intentionally, using psychotropic drugs (for example, alcohol, drugs); Sometimes ecstasy also occurs in mental illness.

For mystics, ecstasy is a state of consciousness going beyond the boundaries of individuality and its “fusion” in a single emotional field (under the auspices of a single idea) with another consciousness. Ecstasy symbolizes the cosmic connections of man (man is a vessel filled with cosmic content).

Meditation (Latin meditatio - reflection) is a way to achieve an altered state of consciousness with the help of special actions (exercises). For example, by prolonged concentration of consciousness and reflection on one object (thought). As such, in the East they use judgments that are illogical in meaning (so-called koans), for example: “The sound of clapping with two palms is known. What is the sound of one hand clapping?” The true meaning of a koan is to stop the rational awareness associated with speech. Prolonged reflection on the unattainable and incomprehensible phenomenon of cotton leads the rational consciousness to a dead end. There is a stoppage of thought, “paralysis of thinking.” Meditation is used in a number of Eastern religions and practices as a way to improve the personality and its spirit, a way to comprehend the transcendental Truth. Some forms of meditation form the basis of special psychocorrective techniques. The state changed as a result of meditation is called trance or simply trance.

Trance

In psychology, trance is an altered state of normally functioning clear consciousness, in which the objects and parameters of attention change. The most important attribute and sign of trance is disconnection from existing reality. In everyday life, such disconnection occurs quite often in completely healthy individuals. This state is transient and usually does not last long (“thought for a second”). In psychiatry, which deals with mental disorders, trance states in patients are always pathological15. Trance can be caused by both external and internal factors. External causes include any rhythmic influence. For example, a rhythmic effect on the visual, auditory and tactile analyzers. The internal factor is represented by the peculiarity of the internal work of the psyche. Its main parameter is the deepest concentration on the object. This can be achieved spontaneously, in reflection on some idea, under the influence of drugs, and also through the conscious use of special psychotechniques (exercises). An important role in the spontaneous development of trance is played by the individual’s predisposition to absorption (absorption of someone’s experiences), as well as uncompensated metabolic disorders (hypoxia, hypoglycemia). The most important condition for trance is the absence of obvious threats to the individual’s safety, in other words, that he remains safe.

The trance state can be deep (full trance) or superficial (partial trance).

Mechanisms of trance . During an artificial (conscious) trance, the flow of signals through the individual’s bodily organization (mainly from the outside) is purposefully blocked. At some point, objects of external reality disappear from attention. In fact, a narrowing of consciousness occurs. In other words, against the background of physical constancy, mental activity transforms into a new quality. This is confirmed by objective electroencephalographic indicators. Attention from the usual state of concentration and active search flows into a paradoxical state of deconcentration. Logical thinking is partially or maximally (if not completely) “turned off.” Consciousness is freed from thoughts, images and feelings that are associated with the external world. The so-called expansion of consciousness occurs, it reaches a new, completely different level of knowledge of oneself and the world. Since our entire everyday reality is “linked” to thoughts, their absence leads to completely new sensations and a new understanding of reality. Those who have been in a trance describe their sensations as something fantastic and cosmic, revealing something new and unknown in a person. Experiences literally change personality. S. Grof gave them the name transpersonal experiences (see below). In a state of trance, access not only to transpersonal experiences, but also to extrasensory perception (clairvoyance) can be opened. Clairvoyance is understood as the perception of elements of the reality of another space and another time. In a special state, a person can actually receive knowledge about events of both the past and the future that occurred in completely different places, which the subject physically could not and never was an eyewitness.

experiences are subjective experiences during special states of consciousness (states of trance). There are two groups of factors important for achieving such experiences:

personal qualities (conditions) that promote or prevent immersion in trance; these include the ability to self-immerse, the degree of absorption, special (personal) forms of experiences;
situational (operational) conditions, including, for example, stress, emotional shocks and related affects; This also includes the level of social influence and special conditions that promote self-immersion in a trance.

According to mystics and some philosophers, transpersonal experiences are the most important factor in human evolution. At one time, Czech psychiatrist Stanislav Grof deeply studied transpersonal experiences (states of deep regression), who used the narcotic substance LSD in doses for research. He came to the conclusion about the transcendence of the existence of consciousness and the imprints of the experience that remain in the memory of an adult personality, starting from the moment of conception and including the period of intrauterine development and the actual moment of birth. He put forward the concept of four stages, or matrices of consciousness, arising in the process of growth starting from the moment of conception.

The first stage is defined as a symbolic whole. This is a period of life in the mother’s womb and the associated feeling of safety, security, deep satisfaction and experiences of unity with the world in its broadest sense (the cosmos). Apparently, here a person gets his first idea of “anchor” and “anchoring.”
The second stage is called “antagonistic”. This is a reaction to the first labor pains, when there is a feeling of threat to life, danger. As a result, fear of enclosed space, physical suffering, existential crisis and helplessness is experienced. It is possible that in some individuals this experience will lead to claustrophobia with an irrational desire to immediately get out of anything resembling a closed space.
The third stage is called “synergism”. It begins from the moment the fetus moves through the birth canal. This is a situation of struggle for survival under the increasing threat of suffocation and fear of getting stuck in the birth canal. The experience of the duality of life situations and finding the necessary compromise in one’s decisions remains in memory.
The last, fourth stage of the birth experience is “separation”. This is a state of lightness and liberation, accompanied, however, by the fear of loneliness and physical helplessness. The experience of this stage is important because of the feeling of the need for one’s appearance in this world. A positive consequence can be a feeling of joy of being and independent creativity, a negative consequence can be the development of dependence up to the so-called psychological vampirism - seeking and attracting attention to oneself by any means.

Being on the border between life and death, in states close to clinical death, a person also experiences certain experiences. In some ways they resemble transpersonal experiences experienced in a state of deep trance. After them, there is a reassessment of life values, a transformation of worldview and worldview. This phenomenon is universal and does not depend on gender, age, national and cultural factors and culture. The return to normal life of persons who have had a deep transpersonal experience or have experienced a state of clinical death is always accompanied by a radical change in the usual conditions of existence and behavior strategy (the person changes work, place of residence, family). Thus, according to the international association of researchers, people who have experienced conditions close to clinical death, as a rule:

believe in life after death;
lose the fear of death in its usual sense;
begin to actively demonstrate extrasensory and paranormal abilities;
they gain self-sufficiency, and against this background they strive for loneliness;
change their type of activity, becoming more focused;
have a more positive (compared to others) view of themselves and other people;
change the emphasis in setting life priorities, accepting, in particular, the primacy of maintaining health as a necessary resource;
lose interest in material success;
show increased interest in spiritual learning and self-development.

Hypnosis

Hypnosis (Greek hypnos - sleep) is an artificially induced (induced) state of prostration, close to drowsiness and sleep. In hypnosis, certain parameters of communication channels with the outside world (usually from the auditory category) are selectively updated. In the technical aspect, hypnosis is an imperative disorganization of consciousness imposed by an external source with the most important characteristic - the loss of one’s own full control over the surrounding reality and falling under someone else’s volitional control. Loss of control is accompanied by a narrowing of consciousness and external signs of weakening of will. In fact, weakening of the will, in the precise understanding of this concept, as a rule, does not occur; it is simply that the perception of other people’s information, including its volitional component, occurs bypassing the first line of centers of criticism, bypassing them. The subject perceives such information as his own, perhaps somewhat unusual, but nevertheless his own; she comes to him as if from his subconscious, acting by the same methods.

In a state of hypnosis, the criticality of rational understanding of the information entering the brain decreases. Against this background, access to the contents of the subconscious, the so-called transpersonal experiences (see above), opens up. Due to the decrease in the criticality of rational thinking, almost any information can be introduced through the preserved communication channel, bypassing criticism, without, however, affecting the vital foundations of the psyche (for example, a command to take the life of someone or oneself). Inputting information in a state of hypnosis (or trance) is called suggestion. Suggestion implies a method of psychological influence with the aim of changing the state and essence of an individual’s consciousness. As a result of such exposure, the individual may fall into a certain degree of trance, accompanied by relaxation, drowsiness, and absorption (increased suggestibility).

A shallow hypnotic state is virtually identical to a light trance. Different names indicate the way to achieve this state. However, in recent years there has been a tendency to mean by hypnosis a method of influence, and to call the state itself not hypnotic, but trance. For more information about hypnosis, see trance methods of psychotherapy.

Types of mental states

Depending on the leading processes in the psyche, emotional, gnostic (cognitive) and volitional psychological states of a person are distinguished. Examples of emotional varieties are love passion and sexual desire, immediate joy and good spirits, sadness and doom, depression and depression, melancholy and despair, grief, indignation and resentment, panic, anger and affect.

Properties

All mental states have special properties:

Integrity is the interconnection and interdependence of all components of the psyche. This property influences the efficiency of human activity.
Sustainability. All types of human mental states are more permanent than momentary emotions.
Mobility is the property of mental states to change their functions following a change in the situation.
Polarity – this property expresses the pairing of emotional experiences. For every positive experience, you can select a diametrically opposite (negative) emotional experience.

Levels

The essence and classification of mental states in psychology are manifested at different levels:

the physiological level reveals the neurophysiological, biological and morphological features of a person’s response to what is happening;
psychophysiological level, which determines the sensory and vegetative reactions of the body;
socio-psychological level, taking into account a person’s status in interpersonal relationships, his attitude to work;
psychological level that sets the general emotional mood of the individual.

Forming factors

What factors influence a person’s psychological state? It is generally accepted that the factors of a person’s mental states include: general personality tone, motivation, mood, expectation of success, subjective attitude to activity. Based on these components, the factors received names such as:

Motivational and incentive is the most powerful factor that stimulates the activity of an individual. The leading components here are a person’s satisfaction with his relationship with his loved one and financial security.
Emotional-evaluative is a factor indicating a person’s attitude towards a particular type of activity and the result of his work.
Activation-energy is a factor that characterizes a person’s physiological activity and manifests itself in the natural change of sleep and wakefulness. Human health is also considered an active energy factor. Strong experiences are usually associated with excitement, and weak ones with inhibition in the nervous system.

Mental processes

Mental processes are mental phenomena that are grouped according to certain functions. The mental process is a dynamic concept. Mental processes can be:

cognitive (cognitive)
strong-willed (motivational)
emotional

Cognitive processes realize their function in the form of capturing, storing and processing information about the surrounding reality. Cognitive processes are divided into two stages. The first stage is represented by sensory cognition, which is realized by sensations and perception. They reflect the reality of what happens when stimuli affect the senses. Sensations reflect individual properties of the surrounding reality, perception forms a picture of the world as a whole. Those images that are reflected as a result of the perception process are called primary. After processing the primary images, secondary images appear; they represent the second stage of cognitive processes. Secondary images provide rational knowledge of the world by resorting to processes such as memory, imagination and thinking.

Finished works on a similar topic

Course work Mental processes, properties and states of a person 430 rub.
Abstract Mental processes, properties and states of a person 230 rub.
Test work Mental processes, properties and states of a person 220 rub.

Get completed work or advice from a specialist on your educational project Find out the cost
Volitional processes control human activity; these processes can encourage an individual to act, control his activity and direct it in a certain direction. The main regulatory component in this process is represented by human need. The individual tries to find a way to satisfy his need, based on the motive, the goal is formulated and the subsequent decision is made.

The main function of the emotional process is assessment: there is an assessment of the surrounding reality, one’s own self and one’s actions. This function manifests itself in the form of experiences and is associated with volitional processes.

Functions of mental states

Mental states are a structural component of the psyche. The list of functions they perform looks like this:

formation of personal self-esteem;
discussion of a person to perform certain actions;
predicting the success of certain undertakings;
forcing a person to complete the work he has begun;
formation of a person’s attitude to activity;
evaluating the results of your work;

These 6 functions are explained by the essence and classification of mental states.

Processes, states, phenomena of the psyche.

Mental phenomena are facts of internal, subjective experience.

All mental phenomena are divided into three groups: 1) mental processes; 2) mental states; 3) mental properties of the individual.

Mental processes are processes conditionally identified in the holistic structure of the psyche.

Types of mental processes: 1. Cognitive: - Sensation. - Perception. - Thinking. - Consciousness. - Speech. - Attention. - Memory. - Imagination. 2. Emotional and motivational: - Emotions. - Feelings. — Conditions (Mood, Anxiety, etc.). – Motivation. - Will. – Proactivity. 3. Personal characteristics: - Character. – Temperament. - Motor skills. – Intelligence.

Mental states are holistic, temporary and dynamic characteristics of mental activity. Mental states, once established, can transform into stable personality traits. The influence of external influences on a person’s behavior depends on his mental states. Mental states include: elation, inspiration, vigor, confidence, determination, melancholy, sadness, etc. Based on the dominant influence on activity, mental states can be divided into two groups: positive (readiness for active action, composure, etc.); negative (fear, doubt, irritation, etc.). Mental states at a given time and in given specific circumstances are determined not only by these circumstances, but also by a person’s past experience, the entire practice of life, personality traits, previously formed moral and physical qualities. Mental states are caused by influences that are significant to the individual or weak but long-lasting.

A mental property of a person is a general functional level of mental activity depending on the conditions of a person’s activity and his personal characteristics. All mental properties are divided into four types: 1. Motivational (desires, aspirations, interests, drives, passions). 2. Emotional (emotional tone of sensations, emotional response to phenomena of reality, mood, conflicting emotional states - stress, affect, frustration). 3. Volitional states - initiative, purposefulness, determination, perseverance (their classification is related to the structure of complex volitional action). 4. States of different levels of organization of consciousness (they manifest themselves in different levels of attentiveness).

Mental processes.

Mental processes are processes conditionally identified in the holistic structure of the psyche.

In modern psychology, it is generally accepted that mental processes are closely interconnected and, strictly speaking, merge into one holistic process, a property called “psyche”. The division of consciousness into mental processes is arbitrary; it has no theoretical justification. The interconnection of mental processes is expressed, for example, in the fact that perception is impossible without memory, memorization is impossible without perception, and attention is impossible without thinking.

Types of mental processes: 1. Cognitive: A) Sensation is a mental reflection of individual properties and states of the external environment that directly affect our senses. B) Perception is the mental process of forming an image of objects and phenomena of the external world. C) Thinking is one of the tools of a thinking person who solves life problems. D) Consciousness is energy (force) that illuminates the inner world of a person and makes the control of mental processes obvious and controllable. D) Speech is the ability to communicate using words, sounds and other elements of language. E) Attention is a system for selecting information that allows us to perceive only information that is significant to us, helping us to respond only to what is important or of interest to us. G) Memory - the ability to remember, retain and reproduce the necessary information at the right time. H) Imagination is a person’s immersion into his inner world and the creation of images, pictures and ideas there. 2. Emotional and motivational: A) Emotions are expressive movements of the face and voice, accompanied by emotional experiences against the background of a change in the functional state of the body. B) Feelings are a person’s emotionally and physically experienced attitude towards a particular event or phenomenon. C) Conditions (Mood, Anxiety, etc.) - a long-term, relatively stable change in one’s functional mood. D) Motivation is a directed influence on a person’s internal feelings, leading to the formation of intention. E) Will is the ability of a subject to create a hierarchical system of values and make efforts to achieve higher-order values, neglecting lower-order values. E) Proactivity is an action and a way of life when a person does not react to external influences, but he himself turns out to be the author of the influences, chooses his actions himself, launches them on his own initiative, anticipating the influences on himself and forming the necessary reactions in others. 3. Personal characteristics: A) Character - natural features of a person’s behavior that make it situationally easy or difficult for others. B) Temperament - the energy and dynamics of a person’s behavior, the brightness, strength and speed of his emotional response. C) Motor skills - the motor activity of the body or individual organs, the sequence of movements that, taken together, are needed to perform a specific task. D) Intelligence - the ability to understand what is happening, use available means and effectively solve life problems.

Mental health.

Mental health is an important part of human health. This is primarily due to the fact that the human body, in which all elements are interconnected and influence each other, is largely under the control of the nervous system, therefore the mental state affects the work of each of the functional systems, and the state of the latter, in in turn, affects the psyche.

Mental health is an integral part and essential component of health. The WHO Constitution states: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” An important implication of this definition is that mental health is not only the absence of mental disorders and disabilities. Mental health is a state of well-being in which a person realizes his or her abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively, and contribute to their community. In this positive sense, mental health is fundamental to individual well-being and the effective functioning of communities.

Mental health is characterized by: 1. The absence of mental or psychosomatic diseases. 2. Normal age-related development of the psyche. 3. Favorable (normal) functional state.

A favorable mental state is considered as a complex of characteristics and functions that correspond to the age norm and ensure the effective performance by a person of the tasks facing him in various spheres of life. An undoubted criterion of mental health is the fullness of sleep as an important component of human life.

One of the leading indicators of the functional state of the psyche is mental performance, which integrates the main characteristics of the psyche - perception, attention, memory, etc. Its high level is one of the main indicators of mental health and the functional state of the body as a whole. A decrease in mental performance is an important sign of deteriorating mental health. It is accompanied by an increase in the number of errors (decreased attention), difficulty concentrating on a task (decrease in concentration), lethargy, apathy, and loss of interest in work and study.

Mental health promotion includes actions to create living conditions and environments that support mental health and enable people to lead healthy lifestyles.

Diagnostics

Some people have the unique ability to accurately assess their mental state. Physical well-being is the main “barometer” for them. Other people need the help of a psychologist in this matter.

In psychology, determining a person’s mental state is an analysis of his psychophysiological and psychological levels. The study of the psychophysiological level allows us to study the nature of the emerging feeling and determine (if necessary) ways to correct it.

The most popular diagnostic tools are psychological tests. With their help, the mood, well-being and level of activity of an individual are diagnosed. The most indicative results are obtained by such methods as the Luscher color test, SAN, PAT, “Nervous-Mental Tension Questionnaire,” “Relief of Emotions,” and personal anxiety tests.

In medicine, methods for diagnosing mental conditions include ECG and GSR results, heart rate, and brain encephalogram.

Summary

After writing this abstract, we became convinced that the mental states of a person are temporary functional levels of the psyche, which reflect its interaction with the external environment, as well as the influence of the internal environment of the body or external factors on the human psyche. They determine the direction of the course of mental processes at a certain moment and the manifestation of a person’s mental properties and are closely related to all components of the psyche.

In fact, mental states are manifested in a certain attitude, the individual’s experience of a particular fact, phenomenon, object, person. A manifestation of a mental state is a change in behavior, primarily verbal, a change in some physiological and mental processes.

All mental states are classified according to a variety of criteria, but most often they are divided into three groups: - emotional states (moods, affects, anxiety, etc.), volitional (decisiveness, confusion, etc.) and cognitive (concentration, thoughtfulness, etc.).

Emotional states reflect the emotional background of the individual, his emotional and physiological reaction to external, incl. extreme conditions, on personally significant objects, etc.

Volitional states as temporary mental states optimize and mobilize the human psyche to overcome internal and external obstacles.

And the cognitive states of the individual accompany the process of cognition, as the development of the surrounding reality and oneself. At the same time, in the process of organizing cognitive activity, it is important to remember that all states are interconnected and for the success of learning it is necessary to create conditions for a general positive state of mind.

Thus, we managed to achieve the main goal of writing the abstract work, to characterize mental processes from the point of view of their psychophysiological nature, while highlighting different types of states, including cognitive ones. This goal was dictated by the fact that an important task of modern education is the formation of a harmoniously developed, physically and mentally healthy personality. However, the success of solving this problem today is negatively affected by a number of factors: the problems of the unstable socio-economic situation of the state, the complexity of the social situation of the child’s development, an unfavorable family atmosphere and the characteristics of the relationship between parents. And also the level of professionalism and psychological education of teachers, the sensitivity of schoolchildren and students to various social influences, their emotional instability and impressionability, individual typological properties, etc. Some of these factors determine the appearance of negative mental states in children, adolescents and young people, which, in the absence of proper psychological correction, adequate changes in the conditions of education and upbringing, can be transformed into persistent personality traits and deform its further development, cause a deterioration in the success of educational activities, behavior, cause disruption of relationships in society.

An inadequate cognitive mental state worsens the quality of the educational and upbringing process, and vice versa, an effective emotional-volitional and cognitive state of the student’s psyche contributes to better assimilation of the material and its all-round fruitful development.

And the specialist himself, teacher, psychologist or social worker working in the field of education and upbringing must promptly diagnose and correct undesirable mental states in himself and his colleagues.

Problems of psychological states

What are the problems in studying psychological states? First of all, this is the difficulty of separating the subjective and objective factors that give rise to this or that emotional experience.

The predominance of negative psychological experiences leads to a feeling of dissatisfaction with one’s life. Awareness of problems in psychological terms and the ability to analyze one’s own state are not the methods by which a person can cope with psychosomatics. To restore performance, normalize sleep and get rid of causeless headaches, a person needs to consult a psychologist. Only a qualified specialist will be able to correctly determine the cause of the problem and choose effective methods to eliminate it.

My recommendations

Clients often come to me with complaints of chronic fatigue, loss of appetite, and lack of desire to do anything. They do not understand what is happening to them, they report that they have been to many doctors, have undergone a bunch of tests, but the cause of the decrease in performance and apathy has not been established. "What happened with me?" - they ask me. My answer that these symptoms relate to anomalies in the mental state of the individual usually surprises them. However, my initial assumptions are confirmed by the results of psychological tests. At the next stage of working with the client, I tell him about what types of mental states are distinguished in modern psychology, since often, having familiarized themselves with the diagnostic results, they say: “Indicate what refers to the mental states of the individual.”

In most cases, 5-10 sessions with a psychologist are enough to correct the psychological state that occurs when you are in a low mood. I give recommendations on developing reflection skills and teach relaxation techniques. The main method in my work is art therapy. In my opinion, this method is the key to the inner world of the individual. Through art therapeutic exercises, a person finds harmony with himself and learns to manage his emotional field.

A state of complete physical, spiritual and social well-being

Health, like happiness, is understood differently by everyone. The World Health Organization's constitution states that health is “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” How can you maintain this feeling of external and internal harmony? What should be done for this?

American scientists W. Wattles and J. Powell name 12 factors necessary for a person to feel healthy. They believe that a violation of any of them can lead to illness. Let's try to comment on these ways of maintaining good health - based on the realities of our existence.

You need to have a reliable outlook on life that helps you maintain good health. As a rule, healthy people are distinguished by reasonable hedonism. They strive to live life as happily as possible, despite the imperfections of the world, the body, and nature. They try to get along with their surroundings and have warm relationships with loved ones. They avoid doing things that could harm themselves or others.
A constant positive attitude and the ability to view events in a constructive light help maintain health. Let's say you were laid off at work. You can regard this as a tragedy: after all, it means that “I turned out to be the worst of all.” But this event can be perceived differently: life gave me a chance to find a more interesting, more necessary and, quite possibly, more materially profitable business. This is not complacency, this is an opportunity to learn a lesson from what happened and see the positive sides in it. Popular wisdom formulated this principle in the proverb: “Whatever is done, everything is for the better.”
A healthy person is distinguished by the ability to periodically work to the limit of his capabilities. We can do much more than we think, and this resource must be used. If we believe that we do not have the energy reserve to work at full capacity, the body will respond to us accordingly. Remember the joke: “Do you need firewood?” - "No". In the morning we woke up - there was no firewood.
A person must have a sense of belonging to spiritual life. This is not about visiting art galleries and theaters - although that is not bad. This is, first of all, the conviction that there is something unknown, unknowable in the world, something that is higher than us. It doesn't matter who or what you believe in: God, Fate, Supreme Justice or Cosmic Intelligence. It is important to feel that you are involved in this power. Not everything is in your power, but even in the most difficult moments we can hope for help from above.
The ability to quickly adapt to changing conditions is also a sign of health. Life is changing very quickly now. You can’t stop, you have to move forward all the time: learn, relearn, improve. If we cling to the old, it will inevitably lead to depression, despair, and illness.
Quick response to stress and recovery from it is another factor in health. Stress is normal and no one can avoid it. Moreover, to some extent it is even necessary for the body. Stress becomes chronic and harmful to health when a person, instead of acting - eliminating the causes of stress or changing his attitude towards the situation - makes a decision: to endure. This is what destroys health.
A healthy person has an increased receptivity to everything good. How long have you looked at the sky? When was the last time you watched animals? Have you noticed the tree at the entrance - how it changes every month? Often a person says: “There is nothing good in my life.” But there is a very rich environment around us, and it was not created by us, long before us. Haven't we ourselves narrowed the channels of perception to work and TV?
The next sign of health is the enjoyment of physical activity. It doesn't have to be sports or exercise on machines. This includes removing snow in the yard and washing clothes. The paradox is that people often measure their comfort by how much they have managed to get rid of physical effort. And then they complain about immunity, which, as we know, directly depends on our activity. In fact, a person does not need such a large load to maintain his tone. For example, 20 minutes of walking daily. But some people don’t do this either: for them, life is closed in a triangle: car, computer, TV.
To remain healthy, a person must be able to analyze and trust his feelings. Instead, some people try to drown out, suppress what they experience. What is boredom? This is a reminder that we are not solving our life problems. But the person does not try to figure it out, to understand what he needs to do. He begins, for example, to abuse alcohol - so as not to feel what he feels.
A healthy person strives to make a contribution to the lives of others. What mark do you leave in the hearts of your loved ones? What impression do you make on people you know and don’t know? Do others want to communicate with you or not? Does being around make people feel warm or cold?
One of the components of health is the ability to show generosity and nobility. A man does not live on an island, like Robinson. He is located in a certain network of human relationships. And if you can give something good to others, then they can give it to you too. You just need to be able to accept it and be grateful.
And finally, a healthy person has a sense of humor. No comments.