Mental health is an emergent property of a person-in-context: a dynamic system in which biology, development, relationships, behavior, cognition, physical surroundings, meaning and social structures continually influence one another across time.
01 — Biology / body
Genetic liability, brain–body physiology, sleep/circadian regulation, autonomic balance, endocrine and immune signaling, metabolism, pain, illness, medication, substances, and reproductive or aging transitions.
02 — Development / shaping
Prenatal conditions, attachment, caregiving, learning, adversity, trauma, opportunity, sensitive periods, epigenetic embedding, and accumulated life-course adaptations.
03 — Relationships / people
Attachment security, belonging, co-regulation, intimacy, family climate, peer and workplace relationships, loneliness, conflict, loss, caregiving, and community.
04 — Behavior / daily acts
Sleep timing, movement, nutrition, substance use, media exposure, routines, avoidance, coping, skill practice, recreation, and reinforcement contingencies.
05 — Cognition / interpretation
Attention, appraisal, prediction, beliefs, schemas, metacognition, self-concept, cognitive flexibility, rumination, worry, agency, and psychological flexibility.
06 — Physical environment / place
Light, air, noise, temperature, housing, crowding, nature, neighborhood safety, toxins, ergonomics, accessibility, and digital environment.
07 — Existential / meaning
Purpose, values, identity coherence, hope, spirituality, moral injury, grief, generativity, transcendence, and narrative continuity.
08 — Societal / systems
Income, education, occupation, health care, discrimination, policy, culture, technology, social status, legal exposure, violence, and structural opportunity or constraint.