What Is Mental Health?

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Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps
determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood
and adolescence through adulthood.
Over the course of your life, if you experience mental health problems, your thinking, mood, and behavior could be affected. Many
factors contribute to mental health problems, including:

 Biological factors, such as genes or brain chemistry

 Life experiences, such as trauma or abuse
 Family history of mental health problems
Mental health problems are common but help is available. People with mental health problems can get better and
many recover completely.
Early Warning Signs
Not sure if you or someone you know is living with mental health problems? Experiencing one or more of the following feelings or
behaviors can be an early warning sign of a problem:

 Eating or sleeping too much or too little

 Pulling away from people and usual activities
 Having low or no energy
 Feeling numb or like nothing matters
 Having unexplained aches and pains
 Feeling helpless or hopeless
 Smoking, drinking, or using drugs more than usual
  Feeling unusually confused, forgetful, on edge, angry, upset, worried, or scared
 Yelling or fighting with family and friends
 Experiencing severe mood swings that cause problems in relationships
 Having persistent thoughts and memories you can't get out of your head
 Hearing voices or believing things that are not true
 Thinking of harming yourself or others
 Inability to perform daily tasks like taking care of your kids or getting to work or
school
Learn more about specific mental health problems and where to find help.
Mental Health and Wellness
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

WHO (2023)

In recent years, there has been increasing acknowledgement of the important role mental health plays in achieving global development
goals, as illustrated by the inclusion of mental health in the Sustainable Development Goals. Depression is one of the leading causes of
disability. Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among 15-29-year-olds. People with severe mental health conditions die
prematurely – as much as two decades early – due to preventable physical conditions.

Despite progress in some countries, people with mental health conditions often experience severe human rights violations,
discrimination, and stigma.

Many mental health conditions can be effectively treated at relatively low cost, yet the gap between people needing care and those
with access to care remains substantial. Effective treatment coverage remains extremely low.

What is mental health and mental ill-health

Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and
work well, and contribute to their community. It is an integral component of health and well-being that underpins our individual and
collective abilities to make decisions, build relationships and shape the world we live in. Mental health is a basic human right. And it
is crucial to personal, community and socio-economic development.
Mental health conditions include mental disorders and psychosocial disabilities as well as other mental states associated with
significant distress, impairment in functioning, or risk of self-harm. People with mental health conditions are more likely to experience
lower levels of mental well-being, but this is not always or necessarily the case.

Mental ill-health A broad term, used to describe the range of mental health problems; from those with mild symptoms to the most
severe mental disorders.

Populations at risk for mental health problems

With a minimum of 10 percent of the global population experiencing depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, eating disorders,
schizophrenia, or other disruptions to mental health, there are some groups on our earth that experience higher rates of mental health
issues than others. Populations at increased risk for mental health problems include:

People affected by violence

conflict

forced migration

Children and young people in vulnerable circumstances

People living in poverty

LGBT

Potential Factors Causing Mental Health Difficulties

 Biological factors, such as genes or brain chemistry

 Research suggests that some mental health problems may run in families. For example, if you have a parent
with schizophrenia, you are more likely to develop schizophrenia yourself. But no one knows if this is because of our genes or
because of other factors, such as the environment we grow up in, or the ways of thinking, coping and behaving that we may
learn from our parents.

Although the development of some mental health problems may be influenced by our genes, researchers haven't found any
specific genes that definitely cause mental health problems.

And many people who experience a mental health problem don't have any parents, children or other relatives with the same
condition.

The human brain is extremely complicated. Some research suggests that mental health problems may be linked to a variation in certain
brain chemicals (such as serotonin and dopamine). But no one really understands how or why. Arguments that someone's brain
chemistry is the cause of mental health problems are very weak.

But even though there's no strong evidence to say that any mental health problems are caused by a chemical imbalance in our brains,
you might find some people still use brain chemistry to explain them.

Reasons for this might include:

 Some psychiatric medications work by acting on chemicals in the brain, and there's lots of evidence to show that medication
can be effective in treating some symptoms of mental health problems (although drugs don't work the same way for
everyone).
 Mental health problems can feel very personal and be hard to understand, so the idea that there could be a distinct physical
cause for difficult thoughts, feelings and behaviours might make it feel easier to talk openly about your experiences and ask
for help.
  Life experiences
 childhood abuse, trauma, or neglect
 social isolation or loneliness
 experiencing discrimination and stigma, including racism
 social disadvantage, poverty or debt
 bereavement (losing someone close to you)
 severe or long-term stress
 having a long-term physical health condition
 unemployment or losing your job
 homelessness or poor housing
 being a long-term carer for someone
 drug and alcohol misuse
 domestic violence, bullying or other abuse as an adult
 significant trauma as an adult, such as military combat, being involved in a serious incident in which you feared for your life,
or being the victim of a violent crime
 physical causes – for example, a head injury or a neurological condition such as epilepsy can have an impact on your
behaviour and mood. (It's important to rule out potential physical causes before seeking further treatment for a mental health
problem)

warning signs of a mental health problem

withdrawal

drop in functioning

problems in thinking

increased sensitivity

apathy
feeling disconnected

illogical thinking

unusual behavior

sleep or appetite changes

mood changes

Common mental health problems

Depression

The main symptoms are feeling 'low' and losing pleasure in things that were once enjoyable. These symptoms may be combined with
others, such as feeling tearful, irritable or tired most of the time, changes in appetite, and problems with sleep, concentration and
memory. People with depression typically have lots of negative thoughts and feelings of guilt and worthlessness; they often criticise
themselves and lack confidence.

Generalised anxiety disorder

The main symptoms are having a number of different worries that are excessive and out of proportion to a particular situation, and
having difficulty in controlling one's worries. A person with generalised anxiety disorder may also feel irritable and have physical
symptoms such as restlessness, feeling easily tired, and having tense muscles. They may also have trouble concentrating or sleeping.

Panic disorder

The main symptoms are having unexpected and recurring panic attacks, and also worrying about having another panic attack. One of
the symptoms of a panic attack is an increased heart rate. A panic attack may happen because of a particular situation (something that
the person fears or wants to avoid), or it may have no obvious cause. People who have panic attacks often change their behaviour as a
consequence of the attack, which may develop into phobias such as agoraphobia (a fear of being in places or situations that are
difficult to escape from).

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

The main symptoms are having thoughts, images or impulses that keep coming into the mind and are difficult to get rid of (called
obsessions), and a strong feeling that the person must carry out or repeat certain physical acts or mental processes (called
compulsions). Common obsessions include being afraid of dirt and germs, worrying that something is not safe (such as an electrical
appliance), wanting to have things in a particular order, and thoughts and fears of harming someone else. Common compulsions
include excessive washing and cleaning, checking things repeatedly, keeping objects that other people might throw away, and
repeating acts, words or numbers in a pattern.

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Psychological and physical symptoms that can sometimes follow particular threatening or distressing events. One of the most common
symptoms of PTSD is having repeated and intrusive distressing memories of the event. There may also be a feeling of reliving the
event through flashbacks or nightmares. There can also be physical reactions, such as shaking and sweating.

What people with mental health problems may experience

Panic attacks

Panic attacks are a type of fear response. They're an exaggeration of your body's normal response to danger, stress or excitement.

During a panic attack physical symptoms can build up very quickly, including:

 a pounding heartbeat or chest pains

 sweating and nausea (feeling sick)
  feeling faint and unable to breathe
 shaky limbs, or feeling like your legs are turning to jelly
 feeling as if you aren't connected to your body.

Self-harm

Self-harm is when you hurt yourself as a way of dealing with very difficult feelings, painful memories or overwhelming situations and
experiences. You may not know why you self-harm, but it can be a means of expressing feelings that you can't put into words or think
clearly about.

Suicidal feelings

Many people experience suicidal thoughts and feelings at some point in their lifetime. They can be very unpleasant, intrusive and
frightening, but having thoughts about suicide doesn't necessarily mean that you intend to act on them. Most people don't go on to
attempt to take their own lives.

Psychosis

Psychosis (also called a psychotic experience or psychotic episode) is when you perceive or interpret reality in a very different way
from people around you. The most common types of psychosis are:

 hallucinations, such as hearing voices or having visions

 delusions, such as paranoia or delusions of grandeur

Taking Action and Getting Help

Early intervention can often minimize or delay symptoms, prevent hospitalization and improve prognosis. Even if a person does not
yet show clear signs of a diagnosable mental illness, these "red flag" early warning symptoms can be frightening and disruptive.

• Have an evaluation by a mental health or other health care professional.

• Learn about mental illness, including signs and symptoms.

• Receive supportive counseling about daily life and strategies for stress management.

Better Mental Health and Addiction-Recovery Services

A person struggling with his or her behavioral health may face stress, depression, anxiety, relationship problems, grief, addiction,
ADHD or learning disabilities, mood disorders, or other psychological concerns Counselors, therapists, life coaches, psychologists,
nurse practitioners or physicians can help manage behavioral health concerns with treatments such as therapy, counseling, or
medication.

Toxic culture

Reverse Law: Don’t try

Die

Emotions

Choose your struggle

You are not Special

Onion

Shitty values

Responsibility/Fault