Also it was Mental Health Week last week - so better late than never!
What is mental health?
Good mental health is a sense of wellbeing, confidence and self-esteem. It enables us to fully enjoy and appreciate other people, day-to-day life and our environment. When we are mentally healthy we can:
- form positive relationships
- use our abilities to reach our potential
- deal with life’s challenges
What is mental illness?
- anxiety
- schizophrenia
- bipolar mood disorder
- personality disorders
- eating disorders
- depression
- long-term and acute stress
- biological factors such as genetics, chemistry and hormones
- use of alcohol, drugs and other substances
- cognitive patterns such as constant negative thoughts and low self esteem
- social factors such as isolation, financial problems, family breakdown or violence
A mental illness is a health problem that significantly affects how a person thinks, behaves and interacts with other people. It is diagnosed according to standardised criteria.
One in 5 Australians will suffer from a mental illness at some point in their lives.
A mental health problem also affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves, but to a lesser extent than a mental illness.
Mental illnesses are of different types and degrees of severity. Some of the major types are:
These illnesses may also be referred to as a mental disorder, mental impairment or psychiatric disability.
Mental illness results from complex interactions between the mind, body and environment. Factors which can contribute to mental illness are:
These factors can be minimised by a strong and supportive community environment.
The following information was taken from the Beyond Blue website:
|
|
|
|
Please check out these sites and consider assisting if you can :-)
)