These two words are easily misunderstood for each other. Even though they are two different words with totally different meanings. On one hand, mental health is the state of a person’s emotional well-being. On the other hand, is a condition that causes problems in a person’s mind.
Furthermore, poor mental health can lead to mental illness. Also, mental illnesses can be cured so the person is mentally healthy again. Therefore, mental health and mental illness are somewhat related. Good mental health and curing mental illnesses are both achieved in similar ways.
This article will tell you the differences between mental health and mental illnesses. Firstly, we will talk about both words and what they entail. We will also elaborate on the differences a lot.
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Describe Mental Health
Your mental health is just about your well-being. W.H.O once revealed that a person with poor mental health can realize their potential. They also revealed that they might have to cope with normal stressors, but, they can still play a huge role in the community.
Furthermore, everyone faces challenges in life. This brings us to why good mental health is necessary. A person who has poor mental health might not cope normally with everyday challenges. However, someone whose mental health is good can live happily, even with life challenges.
A lot of things can affect someone’s mental health; This doesn’t mean that the person is mentally ill; he or she is just mentally down. Most times, traumatic events are the major cause of poor mental health. Some other things that might cause poor mental health are bad physical health, bad relationships, discrimination, poverty, and lots more.
Lastly, it should also be noted that most things that cause poor mental health can also cause mental illness. There are different ways to prevent poor mental health. The government, however, has to help out:
- Provide every child with a stable and nurturing home in a nice environment.
- Making sure that citizens don’t have to experience discrimination.
- Empowering people in small communities and providing enough security to reduce the violence in those communities.
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Like we said, your mental health is your state of well-being. Your mind is one of the only things that you have total control of. Make sure you set your mind straight, so you don’t have to suffer from poor mental health. What we are saying, in essence, is that a positive lifestyle and a purpose can help keep you straight.
Moving forward, a person’s mental health is not stable throughout their lifetime. Your mental health definitely changes during your life. Your state of well-being is what determines your mental health at a particular point in time.
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Describe Mental Illness
Mental illness is a condition or a disease that affects your mental state. This isn’t an everyday thing, this is a complex disease. Your mind controls you as a human being. Mental illness disrupts your mind. It is just like putting water in the engine of your car.
Metal illness could make a person act differently and also cause them to lose their minds. In addition, different things can cause mental illness. For instance, genes, brain disorders and trauma. Everyone can be a victim of mental illness. It doesn’t matter the age or gender.
A mental illness can affect the way a person acts and feels. Also, every mental illness has its different symptoms. These symptoms make the person stand out and behave strangely. The best way to help people in these cases is to ensure that they are given attention and treatment immediately.
Unlike mental health, mental illness is way past negative emotions. The person is seen as abnormal when experiencing these symptoms. For instance, depression can be regarded as poor mental health, whereas, chronic depressive disorder is mental illness.
The level of a mental illness is rated by the extent to which these emotions can affect your daily activities. If a depressed or anxious person is finding it hard to work and function properly, then this person is obviously mentally ill. Also, if this problem persists for a long period, then, it is definitely a mental illness.
Also, it is important to note that mental illnesses do not affect everyone in the same manner. Two people could be depressed and act differently. Not just for depression, it is like that for PTSD, anxiety, and other mental illnesses. The best thing is to get the person diagnosed when you notice strange events.
Preventing Poor Mental Health With Our Everyday Lives
It is very simple to prevent poor mental health. These methods are part of your everyday routine. Also, there are outside factors that can help you develop good mental health. Here are some of the ways to promote your mental health.
Exercise: Exercise is very important to a person’s physical and mental well-being. Exercise can help elevate your mood and self-esteem. Also, it helps you sleep well, live a stress-free life, and improves your mental alertness. Furthermore, you don’t have to do any vigorous exercise to achieve any of this. 30 minutes to one hour of mild exercise can do the trick.
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Eat Healthily: The food you eat is just as important to your mind as it is important to your body. Food with vitamins helps your brain strength. You feel better and more energetic when you eat more fruits and vegetables. Other good foods are unprocessed grains and sea foods.
Be Social: As a human being, it is in your nature to be social. When you are anti-social, you are acting against your nature. The best way to socialize is to keep positive friends and make effort to connect with new people. Don’t keep to yourself all the time, this is what causes negative thinking; Which leads to poor mental health.
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Conclusion
Obviously, mental health and mental illness are different. One major difference is that mental health can affect everyone, whereas, there are only special cases of mental illnesses. It should be noted that poor mental health is not caused by mental illness, also, mental illness is not always caused by poor mental health.
Lastly, different factors can affect a person’s mental health, whereas, mental illnesses are due to particular conditions.
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