Understanding Mental Health
Mental health (or well-being) is a balance of mental, physical, emotional, social and spiritual health. Caring relationships, a place to call home, a supportive community, and work and leisure all contribute to mental health. No one’s life is perfect; mental health is also about handling life’s ups and downs.
When you feel you don't have this balance, or you feel you can't handle life's challenges well, it can affect your mental health. These changes and challenges can get in the way of you enjoying your life.
You and your family will benefit from learning how to enhance and protect your mental health (whether you have experienced mental illness or not).
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Understanding Mental Illness
Mental illness includes a range of specific conditions that cause serious disturbance in thoughts, feelings and perceptions severe enough to affect you or a loved one's day-to-day life. There are many different types of mental illness; each has its own specific pattern of symptoms. Some common mental illnesses are schizophrenia, depression, bi-polar disorder and anxiety disorders.
Symptoms of mental illness often occur in cycles. An episode can last from weeks to months with times when no symptoms are evident. With children, these changes may be even more frequent. People will also differ in how severe their symptoms are. Mental illness, especially if left untreated, will affect your loved one’s quality of life. It will also affect those around him.
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