The Importance of Mental Health ★

 What exactly is a mental health? according to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. It is an integral component of health and well-being that underpins our individual and collective abilities to make decisions, build relationships and shape the world we live in. Mental health is a basic human right. And it is crucial to personal, community and socio-economic development. 

Mental illnesses affect 19% of the adult population, 46% of teenagers and 13% of children each year. People struggling with their mental health may be in your family, your friends in class, next live door, and many more.

However, only half of those affected receive treatment, often because of the stigma attached to mental health. There are many people who’s not aware of mental health, they think that mental health is not a serious condition and many of them judge people who has mental illness. Untreated, mental illness can contribute to higher medical expenses, poorer performance at school and work, fewer employment opportunities and increased risk of suicide.

Mental health problems can have a wide range of causes. It's likely that for many people there is a complicated combination of factors – although different people may be more deeply affected by certain things than others. For example, the following factors could potentially result in a period of poor mental health is childhood abuse, trauma or neglect, social isolation or loneliness, sosial disadvantage, long term physical health condition, domestic violence, physical abuses, etc. 

The most common mental health condition are anxiety disorders. More than 18% of adults each year struggle with some type of anxiety disorder, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder (panic attacks), generalized anxiety disorder and specific phobias.

Although the general perception of mental illness has improved over the past decades, studies show that stigma against mental illness is still powerful, largely due to media stereotypes and lack of education, and that people tend to attach negative stigmas to mental health conditions at a far higher rate than to other diseases and disabilities, such as cancer, diabetes or heart disease. Here is the thing that we can do improve our mental health, exercising, taking breaks and time for yourself, a good night sleep, and opening up to others.

It is always a good time to take care of your emotional and mental health. Talking to a professional can help with your overall mental health wellbeing.