International Journal of Research and Methodology in Social Science

This paper explains mental faculties under Buddhist theory of the mind. Buddhism classified mental faculties according to their positive, negative and neutral effect. We used the negative mental faculties or mentis malus to help diagnose stress and depression. Mentis malus consists of 5 types mental malevolence and together has 14 components. Individually and severally, these 14 components of the dark side of the mind contribute to a state of unhappiness. The level of unhappiness or mental problem that people experience depends on the level and numbers of mentis malus surfacing in their consciousness.  There are two parts to this paper. In this part 1 installment, we outlined the working of the mind through 50 distinct mental faculties that give rise to human emotions. In Part 2, we will provide an analysis of 14 mental faculties or types of emotion that give rise to stress. By having pinpointed the cause of stress, we offer non-invasive and non-chemical dependent tool for stress management and preventative measures against depression.