What Is Adult Mental Health?
The concepts of mental health, mental disorders and mental illness can be viewed as a continuum of health conditions. Mental health is a broad term used to characterize an adult's ability to function within the myriad of life expectations and is a state of effective cognitive functioning, satisfying interpersonal relationships, productive activities, and resiliency when faced with change and adversity. The presence of these attributes equates with health, success and emotional strength. The absence of sound or positive mental health contributes to damaged self-esteem, disturbed thinking, impaired learning, ineffective communication, and diminished emotional growth. It is important for the health of the individuals living in Travis County, and the entire community, to understand how good mental health with strong resilience to handle inevitable life stress can be promoted.
The term "mental health problems" generally refers to symptoms of lesser intensity or duration than mental disorders or a mental illness. Mental health problems warrant active efforts in health promotion, prevention, and treatment while mental disorders are of longer duration and evidence more debilitating symptoms.
Mental disorder or mental illness as defined by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI, Schizophrenia Fact Sheet) is a disorder of the brain that disrupts a person's thinking, feeling, mood, and ability to relate to others. Just as diabetes is a disorder of the pancreas, mental illness is a brain disorder that often results in a diminished capacity for coping with the ordinary demands of life (NAMI, For Faith Communities). The Surgeon General's Report on Mental Illness reports this health condition is characterized by abnormalities in cognition, emotion or mood, or the highest integrative aspects of behavior, such as social interactions or planning of future activities (USDHHS, 1999, p. 5). These mental functions are all mediated by the brain and affected by psychosocial stressors. At the point when disorders increase in intensity, severity and duration with limitations in functioning in one or more areas of daily functioning, the condition may be termed as a severe and persistent mental illness.
Across the range of mental disorders there are human and economic costs at the individual and system level. Costs associated with individuals include diminished functioning, unsatisfactory quality of life, lost productivity, criminal justice interaction, psychiatric hospitalizations, and premature death. System impacts include work force reduction, hospitalization, incarceration and property loss. Assisting persons with mental disorders in accessing appropriate treatment is essential for the viability of the community. The continuum of mental health problems to mental illness should be approached as any health condition: begin with accurate diagnosis, leading to appropriate treatment and recovery (USDHHS, 1999).
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