Abstract: In China,the importance of mental health has been increasingly recognized across educational institutions and the society. However,debates remain regarding the nature,definition,and measurement criteria of mental health. This paper aims to explore the connotation and denotation of mental health by analyzing its relationships with needs,emotional experiences,and well-being. The connotation of mental health lies in the agent-environment transactions,wherein individuals systematically construct and internalize societal contexts. Driven by needs,mediated through emotional processes,and culminating in optimal well-being,mental health facilitates individuals' adaptive functioning in social life and their contributions to society and humanity. The denotation of mental health specifies its manifestations:Through agent-environment transactions,biological traits provide foundational potential,while societal contexts actualize this potential in key domains (e.g.,vocational functioning,relational competence,and self-regulatory capacity). These processes result in measurable individual differences in psychosocial adaptation.

Key words: mental health, connotation, denotation, needs, emotion, affect, well-being