Deviation from ideal mental health

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  • Created by: gemshort
  • Created on: 20-10-17 14:24

A different way to look at abnormality is to consider what makes a person 'normal' and then begin to think about who deviates from this mean.

Marie Jahoda (1958) suggested that we are in good mental health if we meet the follwing criteria:
- We have no symptoms of distress
- We are rational and can perceive ourselves accurately
- We can self-actualise (reach our potential)
- We can cope with stress
- We have a realistic view of the world
- We have good self-esteem and lack guilt
- We are independent of other people
- We can successfully work, love and enjoy leisure (mastery of the environment)

There is some overlap between what we might call deviation from ideal mental health and what we might call failure to function adequately, for example, we can think of someone's inability to keep a job as a failure to cope

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