𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗗 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗 ‘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗟 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗧𝗛’?

Prior to the increase in the rate of mental health awareness programs we have today, many were, and some are still of the opinion that mental health refers to mental illness or madness. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒈𝒎𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒚.

Mental health simply talks about our mental well-being. It is the ability to cope with normal life stress, make sound decision, to be socially, cognitively and emotionally healthy. 𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒉𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉.

As humans, our body is generally vulnerable to illnesses, both physical and mental, some of which may last for few days, months or much longer, but all can be treated. 𝑴𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉.

𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒉𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅, as poor mental health can lead to physical health issues which may worsen mental health problems and vice versa. Hence, the need to take care of our physical health and mental health.

Mental illness can happen to anyone irrespective of age, gender, race or religion and 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆. It is a mental condition that impairs the state of the mind, how we relate to others and thinking. It may be mild or severe, just as in the case of physical illness.

For example, headache, stomach ache, cold and flu are examples of mild physical illness, while cardiovascular diseases such as stroke or hypertension are severe physical health problems. Likewise, Phobia, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder may be classified as mild mental illness while Schizophrenia or bipolar disorder may be categorized as severe mental health condition.
The good news is that, 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅, but, prevention, they say, is better than cure. The earlier you know and embrace the knowledge, the better.

Mental health illness can be caused by a combination of biological, psychological and environmental factors such as genes, brain injury or damage, trauma and abuse, family history of mental illness, uncontrolled stress and untreated mental health conditions which is why we need to learn all that we can about our mental health and how we can improve it in order to have a healthy mental health. 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔. 𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅.

Here are some ways to promote mental health: Connect with people, build good relationship with others, talk about your feelings, ask for help, eat well, take a break, engage in what makes you happy, be physically active and healthy. Remember, your mental health affects your happiness, your drive, compassion and daily activities and there is no health without mental health.

©Tife Margaret 2021.