What is it like to be psychologically healthy?

We all have some idea of what it's like to be emotionally or psychologically healthy, but what does it really mean? Is it being free of any significant emotional problems such as chronic anxiety, depression, drug addiction, or some more serious disorder? Does it have more to do with how well we function at work, in school, or with our personal relationships? Or, it is characterized by our coping skills, dealing effectively with high levels of stress or some other emergency situation?

The bulk of research in the fields of psychology and psychiatry have tended to focus on the description, possible causes, and effective treatment of mental and psychiatric disorders, rather than on the characteristics of psychological health. Therefore, I think it would be helpful to explore the characteristics and possible benefits of psychological healthiness.

The father of humanistic psychology, Abraham Maslow, was one of the first noted writers in psychology to focus on the positive side of our personality make-up. He was interested in studying happy, highly functioning individuals. In his landmark work, Toward a Psychology of Being (1968), he presents his "hierarchy of needs", whereby he proposes that certain human needs take precedence over others. For example, if you are hungry and thirsty, you tend to take care of the thirst first. Likewise, if you are very thirsty, but cannot breathe, you will attempt to get oxygen first. In his writings, he described several levels of human needs, in which one needs to satisfy one's lower needs (e.g., physiological needs) before he/ she can move onto developing the "basic" and finally "higher" needs. Once the physiological needs (e.g., oxygen, water, being active, rest, sleep), we can move onto the safety and security needs, love and belonging needs, and esteem needs (getting respect from others and self-respect).

Once these needs are all met or at least largely met, we can move onto the highest level, or, "self-actualization". Self-actualization is characterized by the desire to fulfill potentials, to "be all you can be". Maslow went on to say that it is a matter of becoming the most complete, the fullest "you". Of course, very few of us ever become fully self-actualized. He estimated that only about 2% of the world's population ever reach that level of development. Interestingly, Maslow's "hierarchy of needs" has tended to stand up quite well in the years since his original writings and his subsequent writings in the area of humanistic psychology and has had a dramatic affect on later theories of personality development. In subsequent articles on my blog, I will describe in more detail the qualities and characteristics common in self-actualized individuals, their unique personal qualities and appreciation of life.

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