The term ‘mental health’ is defined by WHO (World Health Organisation) as “a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.” This positive approach to defining mental health can be seen as a definition for being ‘mentally healthy’, however, given the WHO’s constitution that "Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." We can see why they have taken this approach and begin to understand the term ‘mental health’.
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The term ‘mental illness’ is more conclusive than the term ‘mental health” in that it refers to disorders or conditions that affect your mood, thinking and behaviour. A mental illness is more severe than a mental health problem and often is more on going which is why there are clinical guidelines to diagnose mental disorders and mental illnesses. The two main classification systems are the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) and the ICD (International Classification of Diseases).
(A link to a PDF file of the ICD can be found on the about page) |