Mental Health: What is it?

What is mental health?

Mental health includes our healthy emotional, psychological, and social functioning. It includes how we think, feel, and behave. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy decisions. Mental health is important from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.

What is mental illness?

Mental illnesses are conditions that affect a person’s thinking, feeling, mood or behavior. These can include depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, ADHD and more. These conditions may be temporary or chronic) and affect someone’s relationships with others or daily functioning. 

Why is mental health important for overall health?

Mental, emotional and physical health are important components of overall health.  Mental illness, especially depression, increases the risk for many types of physical health problems, particularly long-lasting conditions like obesity, and heart disease. Similarly, the presence of chronic conditions can increase the risk for mental illness.

Can your mental health change?

Yes, a person’s mental health can change over time, depending on many factors or stressors.  When the demands placed on a person exceed their coping skills, their mental health could be impacted. For example, if someone working a new job that is demanding.

How common are mental illnesses?

Mental illnesses are among the most common health conditions in the United States.

• More than half the population will be diagnosed with a mental illness or disorder at some point in their lifetime.
• 20 percent of Americans will experience a mental illness in a given year.
• 20 percent of children, either currently or at some point during their life, have had a seriously debilitating mental illness.
• 1 in 25 Americans lives with a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression.

What causes mental illness?

There is no single cause for mental illness. A number of factors can contribute to risk for mental illness, such as

• Early adverse life experiences, such as trauma or a history of abuse.
• Experiences related to a medical condition such as cancer or diabetes.
• Biological factors, such as genes or chemical imbalances in the brain.
• Use of alcohol or recreational drugs.
• Having no friends or poor relationships. 
• Having feeling of loneliness or isolation

Some of the more common mental health issues treated are depression and anxiety.