Categories: HEALTH & WELLNESS

The 6 Characteristics of Mental Maturity

Have you thought about your mental health lately? Maybe you should! Have you ever taken the time to consider just what aspects of your personality would determine whether you are psychologically healthy or not?

A guy named Gordon Allport (1897-1967), who is well known for significant strides in psychological theories pertaining to personality and other issues, identified the characteristics of a healthy, mature personality.

According to Allport, the mentally healthy individual will exhibit proactive behavior. This means that they will not only react to their environment, but they will act upon their surroundings in a way that causes their environment to react to them. In other words, you don’t just float through life passively, you make waves.

Allport identified six criteria of mental maturity:

1. Extension of the sense of self

This means that the psychologically healthy individual will develop an unselfish interest in activities involved in work, play and recreation. They want to identify with events greater than themselves. They have healthy interests in family, friends, and/or other social groups.

Do you partake in activities, problems, or events that encourage a social life and are not centered on you?

2. Warm relating of self to others

Psychologically healthy people can love others in a compassionate and intimate way without being possessive or selfish. They can relate and empathize with others, they have a healthy sexual attitude and they do not exploit others for personal gratification. Gaining satisfaction by finding fault with others is a sign of mental immaturity.

How important are the needs of your loved ones? Can you love your partner without being possessive of them?

3. Emotional security/self acceptance

I feel he could’ve broken this criterion into two, but it’s still just as credible. This trait encompasses an individual’s ability to accept themselves for who they are and exercise emotional poise. This is one’s concept of rationality towards their life and the events they encounter throughout the day.

Do you love yourself? Can you encounter minor irritations and set-backs without feeling like your life is falling apart? Or do you make mountains out of molehills?

4. Realistic perception of environment

We can all think of at least one person who doesn’t seem to be aware of their own reality. This is a very common characteristic in teenagers. Healthy people do not live in a fantasy world and they do not bend reality to fit their needs. They recognize their own problems and situations for what they are. And they do not add unnecessary drama to situations.

Are you ok with the fact that you’re not the Queen of England?

5. Insight and humor

These are two things that Allport felt were closely related, so again, he bundled them into one criterion. Mentally healthy people are aware of their own mistakes, flaws, limitations, etc. and do not attribute their short-comings and weaknesses to others. They can admit their mistakes and even laugh at themselves.

Can you admit when you’re wrong and even laugh at yourself?

6. Unifying philosophy on life

This describes one’s life-view, which may or may not be religiously based. It’s one’s belief that life has a purpose. According to Allport, without unifying philosophy, one’s insight would be empty and their humor cynical.