Mental Health

What’s the problem?

Mental health is similar to physical health – we all experience periods of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ mental health which affects how we think, feel and act.
Positive mental health involves feeling good about ourself and being able to live life to the fullest. Negative mental health can cause people to feel and behave differently to what they usually do, and different to the people around them. For the sufferer, these emotions are real.

What’s their problem?

Mental health problems are more common than we realise, with one in five of us suffering at some point in our lives. Types of mental health illnesses include:

Depression involves feeling sad or depressed for weeks or months at a time, and usually includes feelings of hopelessness and a lack of energy.
Psychosis, which can be triggered by drug use, describes when someone may be very confused and out of touch with everyone else’s perception of the world. The person may experience hallucinations, delusions or paranoia, and have strange and disorganised thinking and behaviour.
Schizophrenia is a type of psychosis involving ongoing delusions and confused speech patterns.
Anxiety deals with a lack of control which can result in panic attacks and phobias leading the person to obsessive behaviours.
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) usually starts from childhood and describes a person’s difficulty concentrating and staying focussed on tasks, and showing excessive energy and action.
Eating disorders are when the person has a distorted view of their body shape and weight, and changes their eating behaviour as a disturbing result.

The problem doesn’t define the person

It is important to recognise that a mental illness does not mean a person is lazy, bad or stupid. Mental health illnesses can affect anyone from any country, culture, religion or economic background. Some associated factors include family history, the chemical balance in the brain, stressful life events and drug use.

How can you facilitate the solution

Mental health problems can be managed with professional support, and it is possible to lead a happy, successful life. If you believe a loved one is suffering from a mental health problem, help them help themselves.

Be informed about mental health;
Choose the right time to talk to them about it; and
Offer them your support in seeking specialist treatment.