[Unpad.ac.id, 23/02/2013] Both physical and mental conditions are important. However, people often overlook their mental health since they assume that maintaining it is not considered crucial. This is contradictory to the World Health Organization’s finding on the great number of people suffering from depression, reaching 350 million. Death prompted by depression is reaching 1 million deaths per year.
Professor emeritus in Clinical Psychology, Prof. Soetardjo A. Wiramihardja, states that mental health is closely related to mental hygiene originated from healthy lifestyle. Mental health touches intellectual, emotional, and social aspects of a person which will accordingly result in an excellent quality of life. Mental health is inseparable from a good quality of life.
“Quality of life is evident in social interaction that one continuously performs,” said he, when speaking in the National Seminar Positif 2013, organized by the student executive body of faculty of psychology on Saturday (23/02) in Unpad Teaching Hospital function room.
“Someone with excellent intellectual capacity cannot be said as having good mental health if he/she tends to be destructive, egotistic, only minding his/her personal interests,” said he. People with good mental health will be able to maintain composure, intelligence, and positive attitude that contribute to social consideration and adaptation.
Prof. Soetardjo argues that human beings should be able to interact in his environment, involving three main domains. The first domain is material ground, in which matters are maintained and made use of. Secondly social ground where intersubjective relation among human beings is created. Lastly, transcendental ground where human beings appreciate God and his/her creation.
