Mental Health vs Mental Illness
There’s a common misconception that mental health only pertains to those who deal with a mental illness. However, we all have mental health, just as we all have physical health that we need to take care of.
We can look at mental health and mental illness as two related but distinct dimensions on a dual continuum. On one hand, one can be diagnosed with a long-term mental illness and still have optimal mental well-being. On the other hand, even without a diagnosis of a mental illness, one can still experience poor mental health, for example, by experiencing a tragic loss or by practising consistently poor sleep hygiene.
What is Mental Health?
WHO’s World mental health report: transforming mental health for all defines mental health as “a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realise their abilities, learn well and work well and contribute to their communities”. Another way to look at it is that mental health encompasses emotional well-being, social well-being, and psychological well-being, according to Keyes.
Mental health is therefore an integral component of overall health and well-being and is more than just the absence of mental health. It’s important to note that we can all find ourselves at any point of this continuum, at any point in our lives.
What is Mental Illness?
Mental illness refers to a wide range of mental health conditions that can affect a person’s mood, thinking, and behaviour. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) classifies mental illness under multiple categories including, but not limited to:
Mood disorders (like depression or bipolar disorder)
Neurodevelopmental disorders (like ADHD and autism spectrum disorder)
Anxiety disorders
Personality disorders (like borderline personality disorder or narcissism)
Psychotic disorders (like schizophrenia)
Eating disorders
Trauma-related disorders (such as post-traumatic stress disorder)
Substance abuse disorders
Though mental illnesses are often invisible, research shows that there are biological and genetic causes for mental illness, just like cancer and heart disease. Although some mental health conditions are life-long, mental illnesses are treatable and recovery is possible. Treatment is usually based on an individualised plan with a mental health professional that can involve psychotherapy, medication, or other lifestyle changes – not something that someone can simply “snap out of”. Unfortunately, there is still plenty of stigma associated with mental illness, preventing individuals from seeking the help they need.
What Causes Mental Illness?
According to the biopsychosocial model developed by George Engel in 1977, mental health is the result of multiple different factors: biological; psychological; and social; which can have a cumulative effect on one’s mental health. Thus, putting someone under persistent stress can lead not just to a poor mental health outcome, but over time can also lead to illnesses like depression and anxiety.
Under the biopsychosocial model, different factors can determine how likely you are to develop, manage and recover from a mental illness.
Biological
Biological factors can include whether you have a family history of mental illness, existing chronic conditions, or the average amount of sleep that you get each night. For example, a person whose parent or sibling has depression is 2-3 times more likely to develop depression than the average person.
Psychological
Psychological factors take into account things like how well one copes with existing life stressors, one’s self-esteem, or how well one can regulate emotions. Research suggests that having a bias toward negative thinking, for example, dwelling on your past mistakes, can worsen mental health outcomes. Thus, a psychologist might work with a patient on how to develop healthier thought patterns to build resilience.
Social
Social factors which can affect our mental health include things like our socioeconomic status, our relationship with our families, our friendships, and the cultural norms that prevail. For example, studies like this one show that loneliness can increase the risk of depression, but also that interventions to reduce loneliness could reduce or prevent instances of depression entirely.
Overall, there are no hard boundaries between biological, psychological, and social factors, with many overlaps between the three.
For more info, refer to these resources by the Calm Collective Team