World Mental Health Day 2017: What is Mental Health?

Today is the 10^th of October 2017. It’s World Mental Health Day! A day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma. So I thought I would get involved by publishing a bonus post outlining what exactly mental health is.

WHAT IS MENTAL HEALTH?

I’ve written a lot about various mental illnesses, therapies, and how you can look after your mental health but I’ve never really discussed what exactly mental health is. It’s not as simple as saying that the absence of a mental disorder equals a healthy mind, the brain is more complex than that.

Approximately 1 in 4 people in the UK (and almost 1 in 5 Americans) experience a mental health problem each year but 4 in 4 people have mental health. Everyone has a mind to take care of and you don’t need a diagnosis to do this.

The World Health Organisation defines mental health as:

"... a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community."

Note that it is not just the absence of a mental disorder.

Mental health includes three factors:
1. Emotional well-being
2. Psychological well-being
3. Social well-being

Therefore, mental health influences how we think, feel, and behave. As a result our mental health impacts our daily life including our relationships and even our physical health. It also helps determine how we make decisions, relate to and interact with others, and manage stress. These are things which everyone faces on a daily basis.

WHAT IS MENTAL ILL HEALTH?

We cannot definitively tell whether someone is developing a mental health problem but certain signs may indicate a problem. For example:

• Sleeping too much (hypersomnia) or too little (insomnia)
• Overeating or undereating
• Consistently low energy
• Withdrawal from people or activities they normally enjoy
• Using drugs (alcohol, nicotine etc.) more than usual
• Confused thinking or reduced ability to concentrate
• Excessive fears, worries or feelings of guilt
• Feeling as if nothing matters
• Sex drive changes
• Inability to finish typical tasks, like getting to work or cooking a meal.
• Persistent thoughts or memories that reappear regularly
• Thoughts of harming one's self or others
• Hearing voices
• Delusions

WHAT ARE MENTAL DISORDERS?

Mental disorders are characterised by abnormal or maladaptive behaviour, thoughts and feelings. They cause distress and discomfort and often interfere with people’s ability to lead productive lives. They often make it extremely difficult for people to hold down jobs, raise families and relate to others socially.

In general, mental disorders are caused by an interaction between hereditary, cognitive and environmental factors. We’ve all heard of the nature versus nurture debate but sometimes one aspect is so strong that it overrides the others. For example, in some cases the genetic component is so strong that the person is likely to develop a mental disorder even if they come from a very supportive and positive environment.

1.       Hereditary – the genetic component.
Once the genetic factors are identified, the physiological effects of the relevant genes and the consequences of these effects on a person’s susceptibility to a mental disorder must be determined.

2.       Thoughts - the cognitive component.
Understanding the role of this component requires the identification of where the distorted perceptions and maladaptive thought patterns originated.

3.       Environment
This involves a person’s family history, present social interactions, the effects of prenatal health and nutrition, childhood diseases, and exposure to drugs and environmental toxins.

We each need a better understanding of mental health so that we can help ourselves and others. We need to talk about it and normalise talking about it because shame leads to the neglect of our own mental health and decreased support for mental health services.

I know more people with mental health problems than people without mental health problems. I don’t think I’m the exception in this, I think that because I talk about mental health people feel more comfortable talking to me about their mental health. If you think that you don’t know someone struggling with their mental health, you are most likely wrong. If you think that you don’t need to attend to your own mental health, you are definitely wrong.

So, for World Mental Health Day I would like to challenge you to do two things:

1.       Do something which positively effects your mental health

2.       Have a discussion about mental health with someone you know

Comment below if you completed either of these challenges and please remember, you deserve to take time for yourself.

“My brain and my heart are really important to me. I don’t know why I wouldn’t seek help to have those things be as healthy as my teeth. I go to the dentist. So why wouldn’t I go to a shrink?”
-Kerry Washington

If you liked this post you may also like

1.       Stigma Should Not Be Your Trademark

2.       How Writing Can Help Your Mental Health

3.       What ‘You Are Not Alone’ Really Means