What is mental illness?
Everyone has mental health, just as we all have physical health. Mental health is best understood as simply our state of mind and well being. Our mental health will change throughout our lives, influenced by many factors. We all go through times of having low energy or being unwell, as well as times where we feel good and function well.
Poor mental health, can include prolonged high stress levels, general unhappiness with life, and ongoing low levels of depression or anxiety.
A person might also have a general lack of meaning and purpose at work. While they might not have a diagnosis, they are still distressed, and their feelings can lead to life problems, emotional pain, and poor physical health.
Some people who experience poor mental health for a long time, or who are highly distressed, may meet the criteria for being diagnosed with a mental illness.
Things to know if someone in your family has a mental illness...
- it's not your fault. No one can cause someone else to have a mental illness
- your feelings are okay. It's okay to feel sad, lonely, angry, or confused. Other people have those feelings
- talk your feelings out with someone you trust; a family member, a Counsellor, a teacher, someone from your church
- take care of yourself. Get involved in things you enjoy doing. Take time to be nice to yourself
- with medicine and help from doctors and Counsellors and family and friends, people with a mental illness can get better or learn to manage their condition
- it's no joke. People should never make fun of mental illness. Become more informed, by asking your librarian, teacher, doctor, or Counsellor to help you find information on mental illness.
For further information see link to www.mentalhealth.org.nz; www.commonground.org.nz