What Exactly is Mental Health? How about Mental Illness?
What is Mental Health?
“Mental health is a state of well-being in which the individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to contribute to his or her community” – World Health Organization
Positive mental health allows people to:
Realize their full potential
Cope with the stresses of life
Work productively
Make meaningful contributions to their communities
Ways to maintain positive mental health include:
Getting professional help if you need it
Connecting with others
Staying positive
Getting physically active
Helping others
Getting enough sleep
Developing coping skills
Mental health plays an important role in our overall quality of life. It refers to the way we think, feel and act. The state of our mind dictates the state of our overall health and can impact many areas of our life like how we manage stress, how we make decisions, how we feel about ourselves, and our relationships with others. It can also influence, our sleep, appetite, energy level, and work.
Our mental health is made up of three components that are interconnected and dependent on one another:
Thoughts: The way we think about the things that happen to us can have a major impact on our mental health.
Emotions: Our emotions are often influenced by our thoughts. Emotions serve as messengers that tell us about our inner world. We should try and listen to them and figure out what they are trying to tell us.
Behavior: How we act when faced with different situations can be either helpful or harmful to our mental health.
A mental illness is a condition that negatively impacts a person’s thoughts, mood, and behaviours to the point that dealing with daily life becomes difficult. There are many types of mental illnesses. They can be short lived, for example when you are experiencing a challenge in your life or can be long-term conditions that may require professional care. Mental illnesses can affect people of any age and have many different causes. They are a result of a complex interaction between social, economic, psychological, and biological factors.
The most common causes of mental health problems are:
Trauma
trauma means any negative experience that deeply affect a person and their ability to adapt to the normal stresses of life. Examples of trauma can be a car accident, experiencing abuse, financial issues, living through war, or losing a loved one.
Physical Health
Since the brain and body are connected, when someone is experiencing a physical condition, it can also affect their mental health.
Social Factors
This refers to the conditions in which a person lives in. This is the main factor that impacts people’s mental health in so many different ways. This includes:
income
education
job security
working conditions
early childhood development
food insecurity
housing
relationships
healthcare
Indigenous ancestry
gender
race
disability
immigration
Mental health is more than just the absence of mental illness. Someone may experience mental health problems but not have a mental illness. On the other hand, someone who may have a mental illness can live a good life with the right supports and mindset. Mental health looks different for everyone and can change during different stages of our lives. Think of mental health as a continuum:
Mental Health Stigma
Mental health problems are not always taken seriously, and people can be ashamed or embarrassed to discuss them. A lot of the time, this is a result of fear and confusions about mental health which can have serious effects for people trying to get help. It is important that we move away from harmful beliefs about mental health and instead focus on how we can help people.
Think…If you break a leg what do you do?
You would see a doctor. Family and friends would try to help you. If someone asked you what is wrong, you would tell them what happened, without feeling shame or embarrassment. Perhaps you may take medication to help with the pain.
We need to think of mental health the same way we do physical health. Mental illness is often seen as an inherent flaw rather than a medical condition just like a broken leg or headaches. What makes mental health different is the way we treat it. Mental illness is usually invisible and is treated through analyzing thoughts, feelings, and actions, and at times medication too.
We don’t always visit a doctor when we have a headache. It is very normal to have some days where we feel sad or have bad thoughts, but we should see a doctor when those feelings or thoughts remain for a long period of time, just like we would if our headache wouldn’t go away.
We also need to remember that mental health problems are more common than you think. Every year, about 1 in 5 Canadians experience a mental health problem or illness.
Certain groups of people have a higher chance of experiencing mental health problems.
Indigenous peoples
The trauma left by residential schools as well as the treatment of Indigenous peoples in Canada has left a deep impact on Indigenous communities and their health. As a result of the long history of mistreatment, many people have a higher chance of experiencing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and substance abuse.
Women
Women go through different experiences than men that can result in more mental health issues. Also, women may have a harder time reaching out due to stigma. It can be especially hard for women of color or women from different cultural backgrounds that may view mental health differently.
People from low-income backgrounds
Financial stress is a big contributor to mental health problems. This is because our mental health is impacted by the quality of our life overall. So, when people are struggling to meet their basic needs, they have a higher chance of experiencing mental health issues.
Culture
Culture plays a huge role in the way we understand and deal with mental health. Different cultures may explain different mental health problems differently. For example, what is considered normal in one place may not be normal somewhere else. Culture may impact the type of care you look for, the type of mental health problems you face and the way you think of those struggles. At the same time, certain cultural practices can also protect people from certain mental illnesses. For examples, cultures that value strong social circles can offer people support when they are going through difficulties which lowers the risk of mental illness.
Where to Start? Trying to Improve our Mental Health
Fortunately, most mental health problems can be treated so that people can recover and thrive in their day to day lives. Treatment comes in many forms from individual and group therapy to community supports such as friends or religious circles.
There are many ways we can help ourselves too. A great place to start is to start is by focusing on the main building blocks of health:
Getting Enough Sleep
Healthy Eating
Physical Activity
Finding Ways to Relax
Journaling
Building Relationships
Having Routine
Everyone’s needs and journey will look different, so try to figure out the things that work best for you. Remember, this can take time so make sure you are being kind to yourself while you figure out the things that work for you.
Journaling Prompts
How are you feeling right now?
What is something that you are doing to or wish to start doing to care for your mental health? This can be as big or as small as you want.
What did you learn about mental health that you didn’t know before? What questions do you have?