A good quality of life depends on not only taking care of one’s physical health but also one’s mental health, because the mind is the driving force of life. If the mind is strong, its owner will have the power to live a quality life. So, let’s look at mental health testing and get a better understanding of what mental health is all about.
What is mental health?
Mental health is the mental state of a person. By nature, it is in constant flux depending on the environment and various factors. Nowadays, change is often and rapid. Although change is the nature of everything, sometimes the human mind can't keep up with it and is unable to adapt to what happens right away. This causes stress and anxiety and can lead to a mental health problem such as depression.
Check your mental health with a test
The more we understand the state of our own mind, the more it helps us to know what’s happening. It's also the first doorway to more clearly seeing how to cope or find a way out. Several interesting mental health tests are available. Here are some examples.
· Thai mental health index test (short version)
This is a short 15-question test with four levels of response: ‘never’, ‘slightly’, ‘very’ and ‘extremely’. The scores from the results are used to calculate the state of the test subject's mental health. Answers are divided into three levels which are compared to the normal criteria set. A score of 51-60, indicates the subject is in good mental health. A score of 44-50 indicates fair mental health. A score of 43 or less indicates poorer mental health than the average person.
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· A test to screen the need for counseling
This test is suitable for those who may not know how they feel or have frequent mood swings but are not sure about their mental health. The test comprises 25 questions.
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· Depression test
This 20-question test assesses the subject’s symptoms and feelings over the previous two weeks and, based on the responses, makes a determination of whether or not there is depression.
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· Stress and burnout test
Work comes with stress. If we are stressed for a long time, it can cause burnout. This test assesses your stress level over the past three months to see whether you are stressed or have burnout.
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· Thai version of General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)
Developed from Goldberg's GHQ (1972), this is the most popular mental health screening today and has been translated into 36 languages. There are four sets of this test divided by the number of questions; 12, 28, 30 and 60. The answers enable analysis of whether the test subject has mental health problems but doesn’t identify the type of psychiatric disorder.
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· PHQ-9 depression test
This short nine-question test checks behavior and emotional states by dividing scoring criteria into four levels: ‘never’ = 0, ‘sometimes or not often’ = 1, ‘quite often’ = 2, and ‘almost every day’ = 3. The test results indicate whether the test subject is facing depression.
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· Stress test (ST5)
This is a five-question test about behavior in the last 2-4 weeks. It includes all four measurement criteria: ‘rarely’, ‘sometimes’, ‘often’ and ‘regularly’. The answer will tell the test subject’s level of stress.
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Good mental health can be built just by adjusting behavior
Mental health is like physical health: if you know how to take care of it, it will help you enjoy a good quality of life. Good mental health is having a happy state of mind and good feelings for oneself and others. It helps you to be emotionally mature and adaptable so you can move through problems and cope with changes. It also helps you to have good relations with those around you.
Tips for good mental health
· Exercise regularly
· Eat healthy food and get enough rest
· Quit risky behaviors including reducing or abstaining from drinking alcoholic beverages and not abusing drugs
· Find relaxing activities to distract from stressful things
If physical health is like a sports car, mental health is like fuel for a smooth and efficient journey. To safely reach the destination requires constantly monitoring and maintaining both of them.
Krungthai-AXA Life Insurance customers can check their mental health online for free. For more information, please visit https://www.krungthai-axa.co.th/th/MindHealth.
References
· Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University
https://bit.ly/3Vq4b90
https://www.rama.mahidol.ac.th/th/depression_risk
· Pobpad website
https://bit.ly/3VlSdgv
· Department of Mental Health
https://dmh.go.th/test/thaihapnew/thi15/thi15.asp
https://dmh.go.th/test/ghq/
https://dmh.go.th/covid19/test/qtest5/
· KTAXA Mind Health
https://istrong.center/ktaxa-mind-health/
