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I chose Mental Health as a career. Being a Psychiatrist, many would think our role is to treat moderate to severe mental illness. The way I see it, we are only channels, facilitators (together with the rest of the MDT) to help someone, anyone, restore their mental (and hence physical) health. Being capable, fulfilled, active, and motivated to the best of our abilities, being able to cope with the challenges of daily life in a non-detrimental way, and (not so) simply caring about ourselves is all part of our mental wellbeing.

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Mental health to me is the feeling of emotional well being and the ability to cope effectively with lifes trials and tribulations. Despite the fact that everyone experiences fluctuations in emotional wellbeing there is still a stigma around mental health as something to be ashamed of. This is particularly true for women, in my opinion, and female life challenges such as motherhood, menstruation, menopause are seen by society as something we should just get on with as they are naturally occurring. Yet these times can impact massively on womens mental well being.

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Mental health to me is the feeling of emotional well being and the ability to cope effectively with lifes trials and tribulations. Despite the fact that everyone experiences fluctuations in emotional wellbeing there is still a stigma around mental health as something to be ashamed of. This is particularly true for women, in my opinion, and female life challenges such as motherhood, menstruation, menopause are seen by society as something we should just get on with as they are naturally occurring. Yet these times can impact massively on womens mental well being.

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Mental Health to me is the foundation of how we function as human beings. Mental well being at times can be complex, however the way we maintain it may be simple. I believe that we have to put effort into caring for our mental health through good diet, exercise and taking time out for ourselves. Looking at our triggers and recognising when we are off balance. When we are off balance this is the time to stop, recharge and care for ourselves and be honest with others about this.

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Mental Health to me is the foundation of how we function as human beings. Mental well being at times can be complex, however the way we maintain it may be simple. I believe that we have to put effort into caring for our mental health through good diet, exercise and taking time out for ourselves. Looking at our triggers and recognising when we are off balance. When we are off balance this is the time to stop, recharge and care for ourselves and be honest with others about this.

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My experiences from practice also tell me that sometimes self care although very important may not be enough if brain chemistry is out of balance. But it can be a long road to accepting help from others. For example learnt experiences from trauma alter how the brain responds,  it has learnt primitive responses to survive . This leads to poor coping mechanisms. This is where recognition, patience (a lot of patience) and looking to specialist services help.

Chloe

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Mental health to me means the over all mental wellbeing of an individual. Their ability to cope with everyday life stresses and their ability to function at a level that they are happy with. Mental health is forever changing and many factors contribute to it.
- Kim

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thinking of mental health is as important as our physical health and as most commonly said there is no health without mental health.  For me mental health influences my ability to think and do things. through our live we encounter challenges that our mental health is also challenged with emotions and stress. This makes us either stop and fail or because we have good mental health we over come the hurdle and move on. Once I came across an old Indian proverb and describe mental health: everyone is a house with 4 rooms the physical, the mental, the emotional and the spiritual.  most of us tend to live in one room most of the time, but unless we go into every room, everyday , even only to be aired we're not a complete person.
Claire

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For me mental health is being healthy

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Being a woman of a certain age group I have realised the life course throws curve balls at you. Childhood, teenage angst, relationships, childbirth, rearing children, sleeplessness, work life balance, financial stressors, children in teens, children off to Uni, empty nest, hormonal challenge, daylight deprivation, relationship breakdowns, work place issues and stressors, children marrying, grand parenting (I'm not there on either count yet though), retirement, change of social identity, ageing and ill health, dementia, loss of nearest and dearest....... We all need to give a bit and take a bit, unfortunately our society is not set up to do that anymore. Loss of community is a huge factor in maintaining a healthy life balance and the women and families we deal with are often lacking this. We need to help them as best we can.

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Being a woman of a certain age group I have realised the life course throws curve balls at you. Childhood, teenage angst, relationships, childbirth, rearing children, sleeplessness, work life balance, financial stressors, children in teens, children off to Uni, empty nest, hormonal challenge, daylight deprivation, relationship breakdowns, work place issues and stressors, children marrying, grand parenting (I'm not there on either count yet though), retirement, change of social identity, ageing and ill health, dementia, loss of nearest and dearest....... We all need to give a bit and take a bit, unfortunately our society is not set up to do that anymore. Loss of community is a huge factor in maintaining a healthy life balance and the women and families we deal with are often lacking this. We need to help them as best we can.

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Cath

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Mental health for me is about recognizing the relationship of mind, body and soul being in harmony for wellbeing. Mental health can not exist in isolation and the perinatal period is a stressor that can negatively impact the mental health of some. Promoting the maintenance of wellbeing is as importance as supporting those who are struggling with their mental health.
Jules

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For me, mental health involves the wellbeing spiritually, physically and mentally. These work together to give an overall state of health/mind.

I feel mental health can also be influenced by biological factors, such as family history and life experiences.

When a person’s physical wellbeing is healthy, it enables a person to go to work, socialise with family/fiends and manage everyday activities, which in turn can have a positive impact on a person’s mental wellbeing. However, this is not always the case, as life experiences and biological factors also have a role to play with this.

I also feel a person’s mental health can change throughout their lives, depending on life events and different stages of their lives.

I feel mental health has been a grey area for a long time and too many people have had to suffer in silence and have not access the support they have desperately required. I feel so pleased that subject of mental health is now making its way into the media and is being highlighted more.

It is also very positive to see that members of the Royal Family are also supporting mental health charities and highlighting the importance of talking about mental health and encouraging people to access support.

I feel so fortunate to be studying this subject and will hopefully be able to provide women and their families with the support they so deserve.
Amy

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What does mental health mean to me?

Although all aspects of health are important, traditionally mental health has not been acknowledged and addressed in the same way as physical health. There has often been a stigma or sense of unease surrounding mental ill-health, often from the individual themselves. A diagnosis of a mental health condition can often lead to feelings of shame or embarrassment. However, with the changing views in society and the work that has been done to break the stigma attached to mental illness, people are becoming more aware of the difference between mental health and mental illness.

Just like physical health, everyone has mental health. Good mental health involves experiencing both positive and negative emotions and looking after the health of your mind. Mental health influences our mood, emotions, and how we think and feel about ourselves, other people and situations that are occurring around us. It also affects our ability to process information and communicate and our capacity to learn. A stressful life event or a period of transition can affect all of these factors.

Looking after our mental health is crucial and can help individuals cope with change. It is crucial to remember that despite a mental illness diagnosis, an individual can still have good mental health. In addition, an individual with no mental illness can have poor mental health.
Heidi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyxCjnHqBq8 - This video is great as it explains about the different areas of the brain that can be affected. Definitely worth a watch.

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To me everyone has a state of mental well-being, whether this be mental illness or positive mental health. I feel there are a number of factors that can influence our state of well-being for example, our ability to adopt coping mechanisms and tools to support us through stressful life events and health conditions, social support, past experiences and many more can influence our mental and physical wellbeing.
Aimee