Mental Health and Wellness: Knowing the Difference
By: Patricia Conway
On the path along to achieving complete wellness, there are several factors that individuals need to consider before declaring a healthy life. Mental health is a huge part of achieving wellness because having a healthy mindset provides an opportunity for growth in all other aspects of life.
What is Mental Health?
While physical health relates to the state of your body, mental health is the state of your mind1s wellbeing. There is a relationship between physical and mental health and the link between mental and physical health is in disputable and encompasses everything from balance to heart- health, from sleep disorders to general physical maladies.
Life experiences, your environment, relationships and the communitites you live in can impact your mental health. However there are 7 components to a good mental health.
• In person or virtual therapy- Therapy is great because you have the ability to decompress by speaking to a licensed professional, while also learning techniques of self-care and regulation to put into action.
• Community is important when it comes to mental health. It can be a support group, like-minded people, or even friends and family that are there to be on your mental health journey with you.
• Physical health as mentioned previously goes hand in hand with mental health because the brain and the body are very intimately interconnected. Therefore, eating well, stayimg hydrating and getting enough rest are examples that have positive effects on your mental well being.
• Intellectual health- exercising your mind and learning about yourself along the way, for example meditation, journaling or deep breathing all have the ability to benefit your mental state.
• Environmental health has to do with the way your environment impacts you. Consistent daily stressors, whether that be people, events, or living conditions, can have negative implications that can contribute to poor mental and cognitive function.
• Boundaries- setting boundries and learning to say "no" is a very important skill when prioritizing your own mental health.
• Self-care- practicing self care and engaing in activities that you love to do will always lift your soul, body and spirit.
What is Mental Wellness?
When your mental health is in a good state this is called" mental wellness." It means that your mind is functioning as it should be and that you can function in positive ways in your life. If you are mentally well, you might:
• Have a greater awareness of your abilities and positive qualities
• Better handle the stressful or uncertain circumstances
• Be more productive
• Have a more productive role in any community you are a part of Mental wellness is the result of you investing in your mental health. It takes work to get to and sustain.
It's also important to remember that a person's mental health can change over time, depending on many factors. When the demands placed on a person exceed their resources and coping abilities, their health could be impacted.
https://www.medicinenet.com/difference of mental wellness and mental health/article.ht m
https://www.therabrand.co/
https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/learn
