Mental health is a person’s ability to get along well, make healthy choices and handle life’s challenges. Mental illness can affect your thoughts, feelings and behaviors, including how you sleep, eat or interact with other people.
There is a wide range of mental health conditions that can be diagnosed and treated with talk therapy (counseling) and/or medicines. These include anxiety disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder and specific phobias; depression, which may cause persistent sadness and feelings of emptiness; and bipolar disorder, which causes episodes of high mood and low mood. These conditions can have a huge impact on your daily functioning, but you can get help and recover.
The causes of mental illnesses are complex, but research suggests that genetics and environmental factors play important roles. For example, traumatic experiences and exposure to violence or abuse may increase your risk for developing one of these conditions. Economic inequality, problems linked to migration and features of particular societies and cultures may also contribute.
Mental illnesses can be treated in a variety of settings, from schools to community mental health centers and hospitals. Treatment is tailored to the needs of each person, but may include talk therapy, group support or activities with mental health professionals. In some cases, you may need to stay in a psychiatric hospital, especially if your symptoms are severe or you’re at risk of harming yourself or others. This may be because your condition is complex or you need to recover in a setting where your mental health needs can be met more quickly.
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