Regulatory Health and Psychological Flexibility | J. Hannan

The article redefines mental health, moving away from simply equating it with the absence of a clinical diagnosis. The author analyzes the tension between evolutionarily adaptive reactions and their subsequent biological and social costs. Drawing on WHO definitions and Huber's concept, the text shifts the focus from a postulated 'complete well-being' to the capacity for self-regulation and self-management in the face of stressors. A key element of the analysis is the distinction between short-term adaptation and long-term system health, which explains the mechanism of allostasis. The text warns against the trap of treating functional adaptation to a pathological environment as evidence of health, pointing out that true resilience requires consideration of structural factors and the biological costs of compensation.