Still defining Mental Health

I continue to try to define "Mental Health." I remember working in small community where I also lived. The church minister asked if I knew "Smoking Joe." He thought that "Smoking Joe" was a client of the agency I worked for. Of course confidentiality prohibited me from talking about the person, even though the person he described didn't sound like any client I had at the time. The description included the fact that he was always smoking cigarettes, always had a five day growth of facial hair, slept on a park bench, and appeared to talk to himself. When he talked to people he seemed to make guttural sounds that made little if any sense. It appears that this person has mental health issues.

Another client of mine at the time was outgoing, spoke fluently, owned rental property, and hung out at the local bar. His only negative characteristic was being large and intimidating. This person though was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

Strange behaviors may be a part of mental health, but social functioning is still a major issue.