What is Mental Health?

Most people strive to live a happy, physically fit and healthy life. We are willing to exercise, eat healthily, and purchase over the counter vitamins/medicine to promote "good health" & wellness. However, more than often we are not educated on the importance of maintaining good mental health. In the words of The Friend Zone Podcast, nobody should wants a musty brain!

Mental health is the foundation for thinking, emotional well being, communication, learning, self-esteem, resilience, and relationships (family, friends, and romantic partners).

It is crucial to our personal well-being, and often to the well-being of our loved ones, for us to maintain good mental health. Every day, we encounter tasks and trials that ultimately shape the way that we think. Sometimes the things we go through in life can have negative impacts on our mental health, sometimes we are actually born with mental health issues, and other times we can be genetically predisposed to a mental health disease and the wrong encounter with drugs or a traumatic situation can trigger a mental health issue.
 

Mental illnesses are a wide range of health conditions that can change one's thinking, personality, and behavior. 

Everyone deserves joy and the right to feel their best, physically and mentally. It's important to do self-checks, talk to friends and family regularly, or see a professional if you know or believe you may have a mental illness. Just as you can physically hurt yourself, your mental health can also be damaged or in need of support.

Mental illness is often associated with distress, problems functioning in school, and work or family activities. Many things can cause mental illnesses, such as:
 

• Genetics

• Psychological trauma

• Environmental Stressors

When someone has a mental illness, it is not just them that’s affected. In some instances, family, friends, and community members are also affected. We often hear the word crazy associated with mental illnesses but just know that is far from the case. It's important to know if you or a loved one is suffering from a mental illness, it's OKAY to seek treatment!

 Early engagement and support are crucial to improving outcomes, and increasing the promise of recovery.

• Half of the mental health conditions begin by the age 14,

• 75% of mental health conditions develop by age 24.

• nearly 1 in every 5 adults in the U.S. experience some form of mental illness in a given year.

• 1 in every 24 adults in the U.S. are diagnosed with a serious mental illness