What is Mental health and why is it even important? Mental health includes our emotional and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress and make choices. Living in a bad head space can deeply impact day-to-day living and may also affect the ability to relate to others. If you have or think you might have a mental illness, the first thing you must know is that you are not alone. Mental health conditions are far more common than you think, mainly because people don’t like to, or are scared to, talk about them. However: 50% of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14, and 75% by age 24. A mental health condition isn’t the result of one event. Research suggests multiple, linking causes. Genetics, environment and lifestyle influence whether someone develops a mental health condition.

 Most mental illnesses don’t have a single cause. Instead they have a variety of causes, called risk factors. The more risk factors you have, the more likely you are to develop a mental illness. Sometimes, mental illness develops gradually. Other times, it doesn’t appear until a stressful event triggers it: Genetics, Environment, Childhood trauma, Stressful events, Negative thoughts, Unhealthy habits, Drugs and alcohol, and even Brain chemistry. These risk factors don’t just affect who will develop a mental illness in the first place, but they also affect how severe their symptoms will be, and when they will experience those symptoms.

 Some mental illnesses are Anxiety Disorders, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Bipolar Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, Depression, Dissociative Disorders, Eating Disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Psychosis, Schizoaffective Disorder, and Schizophrenia. These illnesses can have a large impact on your daily life. That’s why it’s so important to know about them and realize when you might have one. In the world there’s, 792 million people with any mental health disorder. You might feel completely alone, but there’s someone out there who feels the exact same as you. 

Poor mental health and mental illness are not the same. A person can experience poor mental health and not be diagnosed with a mental illness. Likewise, a person diagnosed with a mental illness can experience periods of physical, mental, and social well-being. Overall Mental health is important because it can help you to Cope with the stresses of life, Work productively, Have good relationships, Be physically healthy, and most importantly Realize your full potential!