The 3 Pillars of Mental Wellbeing

In my counseling work over time, I’ve observed that people are happiest when their core needs are met:

1. Stability / security / certainty / control
2. Connection / belonging
3. Growth / newness / progress / variety

People are unhappiest when these needs are not met.

They feel more content when they move towards these collective needs, and more anxious or unsettled when they move away from them.

As part of self-care, it’s important to regularly move toward these needs.

With the diagram above, try to aim for the overlapping area in the center—where all three needs intersect. This represents an ideal state for good mental health, where stability, connection, and growth coexist.

It’s also important to remember that too much focus on one need can come at the cost of the others.

Can you relate this to your own life—or the lives of the people you care about?