Mental health, like physical health, is something that we all have. Our mental health can shift from good to not so good to poor. In the same way that poor health can lead to a physical illness, poor mental health can lead to a mental illness. At any given time, 1 in 4 people in Lancashire are experiencing a mental illness.
At Lancashire Mind we refer to mental illness, as a mental health condition.
Having good mental health doesn't just mean not having a mental health condition, it's our ability to:
- care about and for ourselves
- look after our physical health
- keep learning
- express and manage our emotions
- build and maintain good relationships
- deal with the challenges we face
- adapt to changing circumstances
- contribute to society
- realise our own potential
We can all experience poor mental health and many of us will have periods where our mental health is somewhere between good and poor. Good mental health doesn't mean never experiencing a negative emotion or feeling low but about being able to cope with the range of emotions we experience and the challenges we face during our lives.
Mental wellbeing describes our current mental state - how we are feeling and how well we're able to cope with day-to-day life. Our mental wellbeing is constantly shifting but there are steps we can all take to improve and maintain our mental wellbeing on a daily basis, which can help us to remain mentally healthy.
Lancashire Mind are part of the Mind federation, a network of local Mind organisations and national Mind. There's lots of information and resources on the Mind website that can help you to learn more about mental health.