What is mental health?

Worldwide, at least 13% of people between the ages 10 and 19 live with a diagnosed mental health disorder (https://www.nature.com/articles).

What is Mental Health? According to https://www.mentalhealth.gov, “mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act.”

Mental Health affects our daily living, relationships and physical health. Stress, anxiety, and depression can all affect our mental health and disrupt a person’s routine. Anyone can suffer from mental or emotional health problems, and there will be a time where almost everyone will experience it and that’s normal.

Mental Health is important, but what causes mental illness? There are many contributing factors. Mental Health can be influenced by the use of alcohol and drugs, feelings of loneliness or isolation, harmful life experiences like trauma, child abuse, sexual assault, witnessing violence and more.

Here are some early warning signs according to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA):

• feeling helpless or hopeless
• feeling like nothing matters
• having low or no energy
• keeping a distance from people and activities.

There are multiple ways to cope with a specific mental health problem, better manage your emotions, or simply feel happier and more energized. The University Health Center offers these suggestions and more:

• stay active
• get quality sleep
• manage stress
• develop social connection.

It is worthwhile to develop habits to improve your mood, increase your resilience, and increase your enjoyment of life before you are affected by poor Mental Health. You will have to work hard to maintain healthy Mental Health since there are multiple ways that life takes a toll on our emotional well-being.