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What Is Mental Health?

When we refer to mental health, we’re talking about psychological, emotional, and social well-being.

Throughout our lives, our mental health plays a role in how we think, feel, and act. It influences how we handle life, relate to others, and make choices. 

Mental health includes the capacity to:

• Think rationally and logically

• Cope with transitions, loss, stress, and trauma

• Be aware of and accept limitations and boundaries.

A mentally healthy person is able to choose among thoughts, shift flexibly between them, and match mood and emotional expression to the present situation. Mental health does not imply an absence of distress or suffering, nor does it imply strict social conformity.

What Is Mental Illness?

A mental illness is a disease that causes mild to severe disruptions in how people think, feel and behave.

Like other organs in our bodies, our brain is vulnerable to disease and disorders. And, just like other diseases, such as diabetes or pneumonia, mental illnesses can have physical as well as psychological symptoms.

The good news is that with appropriate care and treatment, many people with mental disorders can get better, resume normal activities, and learn to cope with or recover from a mental illness.

There are more than 200 defined types of mental illness (psychiatric illnesses) classified in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Published by the American Psychiatric Association, the DSM-5 is used by mental health practitioners in the United States for diagnosis of mental disorders.

Mental illnesses include: , , , , , , , and .

Most mental illnesses are experienced on a spectrum of severity: At one end are well-adjusted, successful individuals whose disorders are invisible to others. At the other end of the spectrum are individuals who are too severely impaired to lead normal lives – the extreme that most people think of when they hear “mentally ill.”

How Common Are Mental Disorders and Illnesses?

Mental illness can affect anyone regardless of age, race, religion, origins or socioeconomic status. Mental illness usually strikes individuals in the prime of their lives, often during adolescence and young adulthood. We know that 50 percent of people who develop a psychiatric illness have symptoms of a disorder before age 14, and 75 percent will have symptoms by age 25. All ages are susceptible, but the young and the old are especially vulnerable.

When Should A Person Seek Help?

As with most medical problems, early treatment leads to better outcomes.

Sometimes people don’t seek treatment because they don't know what treatment options are available; they may feel embarrassed or ashamed; or they may not know that their thinking or behavior is a problem.

If you or someone you know is experiencing symptoms that may indicate a psychiatric disorder, a consultation with a mental health professional or your primary care physician should be considered.