Mental Health: Back to Basics

More and more people are talking about mental health. An increasing number of folks are starting to see it for what it is: one important component of your overall health and wellbeing, just like your physical health. But mental health conditions, resources, and conversations can still feel complicated and out of reach. Let’s go over the basics.

Mental Health is Health

Having a widespread understanding of mental health can help you be more informed if you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health condition or crisis. Around half of people in the U.S. will meet the criteria for a diagnosable mental health condition at some point in their life, so everyone should know what to look out for.

Support to Thrive

Everyone should have the support needed to thrive. Communities that have been historically and presently oppressed face a deeper mental health burden because of the added impact of trauma, oppression, and harm.

Risk Factors

There’s often no one single cause for a mental health condition. Instead, there are many possible risk factors that can influence how likely a person is to experience a mental health condition or how serious the symptoms may be. Some risk factors for mental health conditions include:

• Trauma, which can be a one-time event or ongoing
• Environment and how it impacts health and quality of life (also known as social determinants of health like financial stability and health care access)
• Genetics
• Brain chemistry
• Habits and lifestyle such as a lack of sleep

Look for Patterns

Take time to ask yourself about your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to see if this is part of a pattern that may be caused by a mental health condition. Here are some questions to get you started:

• Have things that used to feel easy started feeling difficult?
• Does the idea of doing daily tasks like making your bed now feel really, really hard?
• Have you lost interest in activities and hobbies you used to enjoy?
• Do you feel irritated, possibly to the point of lashing out at people you care about?

You Are Not Alone

Our society focuses much more on physical health than mental health, but both are equally important. If you are concerned about your mental health, there are several options available. You are not alone – help is out there, and recovery is possible. It may be hard to talk about your concerns, but simply acknowledging to yourself that you’re struggling is a really big step.

Seek Help

Consider talking to someone you trust and seek out a professional to find the support you need. While you may not need this information today, knowing the basics about mental health will mean you’re prepared if you ever need it. If you are someone you know is in crisis, please contact the National Crisis Line at 988 or click here.