• In psychology
  Psychology
  Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
  
  , mental state is an indication of a person's mental health
  Mental health
  Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
  
  
  • Mental status examination
    Mental status examination
    The mental status examination in the USA or mental state examination in the rest of the world, abbreviated MSE, is an important part of the clinical assessment process in psychiatric practice...
    
    , a structured way of observing and describing a patient's current state of mind
• In the philosophy of mind
  Philosophy of mind
  Philosophy of mind is a branch of philosophy that studies the nature of the mind, mental events, mental functions, mental properties, consciousness and their relationship to the physical body, particularly the brain. The mind-body problem, i.e...
  
  , a mental state is the kind of state or process that is unique to thinking and feeling beings; these can be
  • representational states (see propositional attitude
    Propositional attitude
    A propositional attitude is a relational mental state connecting a person to a proposition. They are often assumed to be the simplest components of thought and can express meanings or content that can be true or false...
    
    ), or
  • qualitative states (see qualia
    Qualia
    Qualia , singular "quale" , from a Latin word meaning for "what sort" or "what kind," is a term used in philosophy to refer to subjective conscious experiences as 'raw feels'. Examples of qualia are the pain of a headache, the taste of wine, the experience of taking a recreational drug, or the...
    
    )

See also

• Flow (psychology)
  Flow (psychology)
  Flow is the mental state of operation in which a person in an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity. Proposed by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, the positive psychology concept has been widely referenced across a variety of...
  
  , the mental state of operation in which a person in an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus