What is Mental Health?
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Mental illness can be defined as:
'Extreme differences or difficulties in the way a person thinks, observes the world and experiences feelings. These can either be brief or occur over a long time. They can cause difficulties in a person’s ability to care for themselves, to have relationships, make friends, make decisions, work or have any leisure activities.’
This definition highlights the fact that mental illness is not necessarily permanent, but when present it can have far reaching consequences on a person’s life. Before considering individual types of mental illness, it is important to emphasise that:
- Mental illness is common. Depending on the research used 1 in 4 to 1 in 10 of the adult population experiences it at any one time. Anyone can experience mental illness, especially if they are going through a stressful time in life.
- Mental illness can present differently in different cultures; therefore, attention must be given to a person’s ethnic and social background.
- Students' suffer the same types of problems as the rest of the population, although research suggests they are more prone to anxiety and depression than similar age groups in the general population.
- The stereotype of someone experiencing mental illness as a person who is violent, dangerous and out of control, is an inaccurate and damaging description, as only a small fraction of people with mental ill health are ever violent.
- The term ‘severe and enduring mental illness’ is reserved for people who have a longstanding condition, which results in difficulties in one or more areas of their life e.g. work, relationships and studies. About 1% of the population have a severe and enduring mental illness.