Mental Health, Wellbeing and Happiness

What difference would it make to your mental wellbeing if you felt a greater sense of personal freedom?

 What would be the impact on your happiness and wellbeing if you could get along really well with those people who are important to you in your personal and professional life?

 What if you could learn to ride the emotional rollercoaster of life with more balance and equanimity?

 What does “good mental health” mean?

A Choice Theory perspective….

Choice Theory describes mental health on a continuum rather like physical health. Just as we know what it takes to get into better physical shape and health, we can learn the steps necessary to experience good mental health – and happiness!

Dr. William Glasser emphasised that good mental health is much more than the absence of mental illness. He stated that learning and practicing the good mental health habits of meeting your needs for safety, love, power, fun and freedom is a public health issue. His definition follows:

“You are mentally healthy if you enjoy being with most of the people you know, especially with the important people in your life such as family, sexual partners and friends. Generally, you are happy and are more than willing to help an unhappy family member, friend, or colleague to feel better. You lead a mostly tension-free life, laugh a lot, and rarely suffer from the aches and pains that so many people accept as an unavoidable part of living. You enjoy life and have no trouble accepting other people who think and act differently from you. It rarely occurs to you to criticize or try to change anyone. If you have differences with someone else you will try to work out the problem; if you can’t you will walk away before you argue and increase the difficulty.

You are creative in what you attempt and may enjoy more of your potential than you ever thought possible. Finally, even in very difficult situations when you are unhappy – no one can be happy all the time – you’ll know why you are unhappy and attempt to do something about it. You may even be physically handicapped as was Christopher Reeve, and still fit the criteria above.”

Defining Mental Health as a Public Health Issue
Copyright© September 2005, William Glasser M.D.

Glasser Australia offers quality,  evidence-based training in Choice Theory and its extensive applications, beginning with a 6 hour Take Charge of Your Life course or a 4 day Basic Intensive Training.

For availability check TRAINING or CONTACT US for further information.

For information about the 6-hour workshop “Take Charge of Your Life see

TRAINING /TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR LIFE

For information about a 4-day in depth workshop see

TRAINING /TRAINING STAGES  Basic Intensive Training