In the current social climate where everyone is tripping over themselves to be inclusive and politically correct, I am sure this phrase will not be new to you.
However overused and misused it is, it does not make it any less true. People seem to be under this misconception that the term mental health defines and illness or disorder. Mental health is a term that is used to describe the wellness of one’s mind in the same way that the term physical health describes the wellness of one’s body. We all have mental health, the simple difference that is mostly misunderstood is that someone can have good or bad mental health.
Having good mental health today does not guarantee that tomorrow you cannot have bad mental health. Having bad mental health today does not in any way mean you cannot recover from it and have good mental health. When you have bad mental health, it can also be referred to as mental illness. Mental illness is an umbrella term for a wide range of mental health conditions — disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behaviour. Examples of mental illness include depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders and addictive behaviour.
People tend to get bogged down in the idea of getting treatment for mental illness to be cured. Most mental illness is not a disease it is instead a physiological disorder. This term refers to what is frequently known as mental disorders or psychiatric disorders. Mental disorders are patterns of behavioural or psychological symptoms that impact multiple areas of life. Patterns can be broken, psychological symptoms can be reduced or managed but there is no such thing as a cure for mental illness.
This brings me back to it’s not to be ok. If an asthmatic can have bad days and good days with their breathing and these are things, we find acceptable and the norm for someone of their physical health. Then would it not be the same for someone who has depression to have good days and bad days with their moods and these be things we accept as the norm for someone of their mental health. No one is an expert on mental health, even the experts are not experts because everyday we learn new things and every person who suffers from mental illness is not the same. If you have 2 depressed people, they do not suddenly become copies of each other just because of this, their remain individuals with different minds, backgrounds and environments.