The Difference Between Mental Health and Mental Illness

What is mental health? Mental health refers to the state of one’s mind and emotions, including thoughts, feelings, moods, sensations, and behaviors. Some of these aspects may be positive—such as love, compassion, or happiness—while others may be negative—such as anxiety, depression, or stress. A person’s mental health can have an effect on his or her physical health; if you have poor mental health it can lead to higher rates of disease and illness and vice versa.

Mental health

The way you think, feel, and act. Your mental health is just as important as your physical health. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices about things like diet, sleep, alcohol use, exercise, smoking, or drugs. Achieving and maintaining good mental health is crucial to living a long life. We can support our mental health by learning more about it and by practicing healthy behaviors. Good mental health also means feeling comfortable in your own skin and being aware of changes in your mood so that you can seek help if necessary. Mental illnesses are health conditions that affect a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others, and/or daily functioning for longer than one month. Mental illnesses are treatable but not curable; early diagnosis is important because treatment works best when started early. Effective treatments are available for many common mental illnesses.

Mental illness

If a mental illness (also known as a psychiatric disorder) is present, it may affect a person’s thinking, feeling, or mood. A mental illness can cause significant distress and impairment in a person’s life. The most common forms of mental illness are depression, anxiety disorders, substance use disorders, and eating disorders. While mental illnesses typically involve an ongoing battle with symptoms, treatment plans often help individuals manage their symptoms and live their lives to their fullest potential. Anyone can experience mental illness; however, some groups are more vulnerable than others. For example, it’s estimated that one in five Americans will experience a mental health issue in any given year — but women have higher rates of certain disorders than men, including depression and anxiety.

Mental disorders

In contrast, a mental disorder is a diagnosable illness with symptoms that significantly impact daily functioning. Common mental disorders include depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), eating disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, millions of people have these illnesses yet don’t meet strict criteria for diagnoses. The exact cause(s) of mental disorders aren’t fully understood, but certain biological and environmental factors can increase your risk; for example, a history of childhood abuse or traumatic events can predispose you to certain psychiatric conditions later in life.

Are you mentally ill?

In order to understand what mental health is, you need to first separate it from mental illness. There’s no single definition of mental health, but for purposes of discussion, we’ll define it as a state of well-being in which an individual is able to use his or her cognitive and emotional capabilities, function in society, and meet life’s challenges with success. On top of that, mental health doesn’t mean there aren’t negative thoughts: everyone has these, including people with mental illnesses such as depression or anxiety.

How to spot mental illness in yourself or others

The main difference between mental health and mental illness is that mental health relates to how you feel, whereas a mental illness describes specific conditions that can affect your thinking, feeling, or mood. For example, depression is a mental illness; feeling sad when you lose someone close to you is normal. Anybody can experience mental health problems at some point in their life, but they don’t always lead to a mental illness. If symptoms of depression get worse over time and cause more difficulties in everyday life, it may be helpful to speak with a professional for help with treating these feelings.

Your mental health plays an important role in every aspect of your life, from relationships with friends and family members to work performance.