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Are You Flourishing?



Mental health and mental illness are not the opposite ends of a continuum, i.e., if you are not depressed, it does not necessarily mean that you are mentally healthy. If mental health is considered as a separate concept from mental illness, then barely one-fifth of the U.S. adult population without mental illness would be considered mentally healthy or flourishing (Keyes, 2007). So, what is flourishing? Psychologist Corey Keyes argues that flourishing is a state of optimal mental health, characterized by individuals experiencing positive emotions and functioning well both psychologically and socially. The opposite of flourishing is languishing, a state of incomplete mental health characterized by individuals having lower levels of psychological and social well-being, who describe their lives as “hollow,” “empty,” “stagnant,” or “a void” (Keyes, 2002). The three key dimensions of flourishing – emotional, psychological, and social well-being – are described below (Keyes, 2007; Ryff, 1989).

A. Positive emotions (i.e., emotional well-being)

1. Positive affect: Being regularly cheerful, interested in life, in good spirits, happy, calm, and peaceful, full of life.

2. Quality of life: Being mostly or highly satisfied with life overall or in domains of life.

B. Positive psychological functioning (i.e., psychological well-being)

1. Self-acceptance
  • Having a positive attitude toward oneself
  • Accepting one’s good and bad qualities
  • Feeling positive about one’s past life
2. Environmental mastery
  • Having a sense of mastery and competence in managing the environment
  • Ability to control a complex array of external activities
  • Making effective use of surrounding opportunities
  • Ability to create or choose contexts suitable to personal needs and values
3. Personal growth
  • Having a feeling of continued development
  • Seeing oneself as growing and expanding
  • Being open to new experiences
  • Having a sense of realizing one’s own potential
  • Seeing improvement in self and behavior over time
4. Purpose in life
  • Having goals in life and a sense of direction
  • Feeling there is meaning to the present and past life
  • Holding beliefs that give life a purpose
  • Having aims and objectives for living
5. Autonomy
  • Ability to be self-determining and independent
  • Ability to resist social pressures
  • Ability to regulate behaviors from within
  • Ability to evaluate oneself by personal standards
6. Positive relations with others
  • Having warm and trusting relationships with others
  • Being concerned about the welfare of others
  • Being capable of strong empathy, affection, and intimacy
  • Understanding the give and take of human relationships

C. Positive social functioning (i.e., social well-being)

1. Social acceptance: Holding positive attitudes toward, acknowledging, and accepting of human differences.

2. Social actualization: Believing people, groups, and society have potential and can evolve or grow positively.

3. Social contribution: Seeing daily activities as useful and valued by society and others.

4. Social coherence: Being interested in society and social life and finding them meaningful and somewhat intelligible.

5. Social integration: Feeling a sense of belonging to and receiving comfort and support from a community.

As can be gleaned, flourishing is defined by 13 dimensions spread across emotional, psychological, and social well-being. You are flourishing if you exhibit a high level on one of the two dimensions of emotional well-being and high levels on six out of 11 dimensions of positive psychological and social well-being (Keyes, 2002). This concept of flourishing and languishing assumes significance given the research that a major depressive episode is six times more likely among adults who are languishing compared to those who are flourishing (Keyes, 2002). Besides decreasing the risk of depression, flourishing confers additional benefits. Individuals who are flourishing have fewer days of missed work, lower levels of health limitations in activities of daily living, fewer chronic physical diseases, lower healthcare utilization, and higher levels of psychosocial functioning (Keyes, 2007).

Your flourishing experiences are not necessarily “Aha!” moments but could be very ordinary or routine experiences that have a particular significance for you. These could be overcoming challenges, mastering something, succeeding against odds, accomplishing your goals, acquiring new talents, being in a new relationship, etc. Maureen Gaffney, author of the book Flourishing, advises that you recall specific examples of being at your best and ask yourself the following questions (Gaffney, 2011):
  • What were the circumstances?
  • How were you thinking, feeling, and reacting?
  • What strengths did you discover in yourself?
  • How did you manage your usual vulnerabilities or weaknesses?
  • What did you learn about yourself from the experience?
  • What did you learn about other people?
  • What did you learn about life in general?
In short, flourishing and languishing exist on a continuum. Recognizing what promotes you to flourish is the first step towards boosting your well-being. 

To learn more about evidence-based self-management techniques that promote mental health and well-being, check out Dr. Duggal's Author Page.

HARPREET S. DUGGAL, MD, FAPA

REFERENCES

Keyes, C. L. M. (2002). The mental health continuum: from languishing to flourishing in life. (2002). Journal of Health and Social Research, 43, 207-222.

Keyes, C. L. M. (2007). Promoting and protecting mental health as flourishing: a complimentary strategy for improving national mental health. American Psychologist, 62(2), 95-108.

Gaffney, M. (2011). Flourishing. UK: Penguin Life.

Layous, K., Chancellor, J., Lyubomirsky, S., Wang, L., & Doraiswamy, M. (2011). Delivering happiness: translating positive psychology intervention research for treating major and minor depressive disorders. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 17(8), 675-683.
 
Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(6), 1069-1081.











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