How to Recognize Characteristics of Mentally Healthy People

The presence or absence of characteristics of mentally healthy people helps professionals determine whether or not someone has a mental illness. However, once in a while, mentally stable individuals display irrational behavior or mood swings. Most of the time, someone who displays these traits has proper mental health.

Instructions

• 1

  Look at personal relationships. Characteristics of mentally healthy people usually include the ability to maintain meaningful relationships. This includes the ability to develop new friendships while maintaining their old ones. They should be able to love and receive love without fear.

• 2

  Consider someone's ability to listen to the thoughts and beliefs of other people, but still make their own choices and decisions. Mentally healthy people can make their own decisions but don't shut out the concerns of others.

• 3

  Think about someone's behavior around other people. Someone mentally healthy should feel comfortable around others. Although people might sometimes feel common social emotions like anger, jealousy, or love, these emotions won't overwhelm a stable individual.

• 4

  Search for the ability to adapt to new situations or even challenging problems. Someone who takes action to solve a problem instead of complaining about it exemplifies one of the characteristics of mentally healthy people.

• 5

  Consider organization as an important skill for mental health. This type of organization does not refer to a neat and tidy home, but to an orderly life. Someone who can prioritize life's important tasks and accomplish them before tackling less important jobs shows a positive characteristic.

• 6

  Listen for laughter. Someone who can laugh at themselves, or find humor in almost any situation portrays an important mental health characteristic.