Mental Health
Mental health refers to someone's emotional and social wellbeing. With good mental health, we manage the normal ups and downs of life and are able to get on with our life with relative ease. When our mental health declines it can affect our feelings, thoughts and actions. This can then affect our day to day life and participation in activities such as school, work and relationships.
Feeling down, tense, angry or anxious are all normal emotions that are appropriate at different times and in response to the range of events that occur in people’s lives. When these feelings persist for long periods of time or interfere with our relationships or ability to go about our daily business then they may become mental health problems. Mental health problems may not be severe or long lasting.
Mental illness
When mental health problems do last for long periods of time and begin to severely affect someone's everyday life, it may be that the problem is becoming an illness. At this point it is good to talk to someone about the issues or seek help from a GP or a counsellor.
Mental illness refers to a range of issues which may affect someone's thoughts, feelings, actions and/or memory. These issues are often longer lasting than mental health problems and cause more distress and disruption to life. Although mental ill health can occur ar any age, anxiety disorders and depression are quite common problems for young people.
There are a number of mental illnesses and each has its own specific pattern of symptoms, types and degrees of severity. Including:
Causes of mental illness
Most mental illnesses are thought to be caused by a variety of factors including:
- Biological factors - inherited or environmental
- Negative early life experiences - for example: abuse, neglect, death of a relative or other losses and trauma
- Individual factors - for example: self-esteem or way of thinking
- Current social circumstances - school, work, financial, relationship or family stress, or negative life events
Getting help
If you have concerns about your mental health or that of a friend or family member there are a number of ways you can get help, including visiting a headspace service. Go to the Getting Help section for more information.
This information was produced in conjunction with ORYGEN Youth Health