Mental health, described by the World Health Organization as "the proper functioning of the mental processes and the body", is essential for overall health. Mental health is related to all the other bodily aspects of an individual: physical health, physical fitness, muscle strength, immunity, and so on. This implies that mental health is just as important as any of the other aspects of our total health. It is also related to the quality of that health - a healthy mental state is necessary to maintain a healthy body.
The first step in mental health is to be able to recognize and report all the different kinds of symptoms that do not conform to the usual patterns of behavior seen in the majority of people. These symptoms may be associated with an undiagnosed physical illness or they may point to another more serious problem. They can also indicate the beginning of an abnormal mental illness. If the symptoms are consistent and prolonged over a period of time and they develop in more than one place, they may indicate a progressive disease or conditions.
Emotional wellness, or the ability to enjoy and manage one's life successfully, emotional intelligence, or our capacity to effectively cope with stress, is also an essential component of mental health. Mental health, it turns out, is intimately connected to the quality of our relationships, too. The stronger and more stable the relationships in our lives, the more we are able to cope with everyday stressors without developing mental illnesses. It is something that has to be considered in all its dimensions, including the emotional aspects of the relationship.
People with mental illnesses have different coping strategies. Some seek treatment; others don't want to get help. There are those who just get along better with their environment, perhaps because it is their family background, their usual coping methods, or a mixture of all of these. Some people have been exposed to violence or abuse early on in life and developed severe or chronic scars. Others were just unable to cope, and ended up living a miserable and lonely life.
If your loved one has a mental illness, and you don't want him or her to get worse, you need to take action now to get help for him or her. A doctor can prescribe medication to help ease depression, but if the person has deep-seated emotions, then the medication won't work. He or she will have to get help from someone outside the family in order to get better. You can do your part by getting better yourself, through therapy, by changing your outlook on life, by finding support groups who can help you with your mental health, and by getting treatment when needed.
The symptoms that define mental illnesses vary widely from one person to another, from one disorder to another. Some people suffer from panic attacks, insomnia, excessive worrying, social anxiety, depression, mood swings, guilt, or other such symptoms. Other symptoms are delusions, paranoia, mania, hallucinations, or drug abuse. If someone you love is exhibiting any of these symptoms, you should get help for them right away. A loved one with a mental illness could cause problems in your family and in the community.
If your loved one also displays symptoms of a clinical depression or a psychotic disorder, you have a serious responsibility to get help for him or her. This is a leading cause of death among people with mental illness in the U.S. If someone you love shows even the slightest sign of dementia, or if he or she is talking constantly about things that aren't there, you need to get help for them immediately. Being helpless doesn't change the fact that their lives could be ruined.
Serious mental health issues, such as schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder can also be tied to compulsive disorder. People with this disorder are repeatedly searching for meaning in life and in their situations. Unfortunately, they tend to reject connections between events and their causes. This can lead to hallucinations, paranoia, and depression. People with a compulsion have a need to control their environment and their thoughts.