Mental health refers to our cognitive, and/or emotional wellbeing it is all about how we think, feel and behave. Mental health, if somebody has it, can also mean an absence of a mental disorder. Approximately 25% of people in the UK have a mental health problem during their lives. The USA is said to have the highest incidence of people diagnosed with mental health problems in the developed world. Your mental health can affect your daily life, relationships and even your physical health. Mental health also includes a persons ability to enjoy life to attain a balance between life activities and efforts to achieve psychological resilience.

According to Medilexicons medical dictionary, mental health is “emotional, behavioral, and social maturity or normality; the absence of a mental or behavioral disorder; a state of psychological wellbeing in which one has achieved a satisfactory integration of ones instinctual drives acceptable to both oneself and ones social milieu; an appropriate balance of love, work, and leisure pursuits”.

According to WHO (World Health Organization), mental health is “a state of wellbeing in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community”. WHO stresses that mental health “is not just the absence of mental disorder”.

WHO explains that especially in low and middleincome countries, mental health services are very underfunded both human and financial. Most resources are channeled into treating and caring for mentally ill patients, rather than on any integrated mental health system. Countries should integrate mental health into primary health care (general practice), provide mental health care in general hospitals, and improve communitybased mental health services, rather than just providing care in large psychiatric hospitals.Mental health problems (disorders) can affect anyoneExperts say we all have the potential for suffering from mental health problems, no matter how old we are, whether we are male or female, rich or poor, or ethnic group we belong to. In the UK over one quarter of a million people are admitted into psychiatric hospitals each year, and more than 4,000 people kill themselves. They come from all walks of life.

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According to the NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health, USA) mental disorders are “common in the USA and internationally”. Approximately 57.7 million Americans suffer from a mental disorder in a given year, that is approximately 26.2% of adults. However, the main burden of illness is concentrated in about 1 in 17 people (6%) who suffer from a serious mental illness. Approximately half of all people who suffer from a mental disorder probably suffer from another mental disorder at the same time, experts say.

In the UK, Canada, the USA and much of the developed world, mental disorders are the leading cause of disability among people aged 15 to 44.What are mental illness, mental disorders and mental health problems? Mental illness is a term that is used to refer to a wide range of mental disorders that can be diagnosed by a health care professional. In this article, mental illness, mental disorders and mental health problems have the same meaning.What are the most common mental illnesses? The most common forms of mental illnesses areAnxiety disorders the most common group of mental illnesses. The sufferer has a severe fear or anxiety which is linked to certain objects or situations. Most people with an anxiety disorder will try to avoid exposure to whatever triggers their anxiety. Examples of anxiety disorders include
Panic disorder the person experiences sudden paralyzing terror or imminent disaster.
Phobias these may include simple phobias disproportionate fear of objects, social phobias fear of being subject to the judgment of others, and agoraphobia dread of situations where getting away or breaking free may be difficult. We really do not know how many phobias people may experience globally there could be hundreds and hundreds of them.
(OCD) Obsessivecompulsive disorder the person has obsessions and compulsions. In other words, constant stressful thoughts (obsessions), and a powerful urge to perform repetitive acts, such as hand washing (compulsion).

PSTD (Posttraumatic stress disorder) this can occur after somebody has been through a traumatic event something horrible and scary that the person sees or that happens to them. During this type of event the person thinks that his/her life or other peoples lives are in danger. The sufferer may feel afraid or feel that he/she has no control over what is happening.
Mood disorders these are also known as affective disorders or depressive disorders. Patients with these illnesses share disturbances or mood changes, generally involving either mania (elation) or depression. Experts say that approximately 80% of patients with depressive disorder improve significantly with treatment. Examples of mood disorders include
Major depression the sufferer is not longer interested in and does not enjoy activities and events that he/she previously got pleasure from. There are extreme or prolonged periods of sadness.
Bipolar disorder also known as manicdepressive illness, or manic depression. The sufferer oscillates from episodes of euphoria (mania) and depression (despair).
Dysthymia mild chronic depression. Chronic in medicine means continuous and longterm. The patient has a chronic feeling of ill being and/or lack of interest in activities he/she once enjoyed but to a lesser extent than in major depression.
SAD (seasonal affective disorder) a type of major depression. However, this one is triggered by lack of daylight. People get it in countries far from the equator during late autumn, winter, and early spring.
Schizophrenia disordersWhether or not schizophrenia is a single disorder or a group of related illnesses has yet to be fully determined. It is a highly complex illness, with some generalizations which exist in virtually all patients diagnosed with schizophrenia disorders. Most sufferers experience onset of schizophrenia between 15 and 25 years of age. The sufferer has thoughts that appear fragmented; he/she also finds it hard to process information. Schizophrenia can have negative or positive symptoms. Positive symptoms include delusions, thought disorders and hallucinations. Negative symptoms include withdrawal, lack of motivation and a flat or inappropriate mood. (See the article “What is schizophrenia”)What are the most common serious mental disorders (illnesses)? Most major (serious) mental illnesses tend to have symptoms that come and go, with periods in between when the person can lead a relatively normal life (episodic illness). The most common serious mental disorders areSchizophrenia (See the article “What is schizophrenia”)Bipolar disorder (see article “What is bipolar disorder”)Depression (see article “What is depression”)Treatments and strategies for mental health problemsThere are various ways people with mental health problems might receive treatment. It is important to know that what works for one person may not work for another; this is especially the case with mental health. Some strategies or treatment are more successful when combined with others. The patient himself/herself with a chronic (longterm) mental disorder may draw on different options at different stages in his/her life. The majority of experts say that the well informed patient is probably the best judge of what treatment suits him/her better. It is crucial that healthcare professionals be aware of this.

Self help

There are a lot people with mental health problems may do to improve their mental health. Alterations in lifestyle, which may include a better diet, lower alcohol and illegal drug consumption, exercise and getting enough sleep can make enormous differences to a mental health patients mental health. Lets have a closer look and some of these strategiesDiet and mental health

Scientists, psychiatrists, and other health care professionals know that the brain is made up in large part of essential fatty acids, water and other nutrients. It is an accepted fact that food affects how people feel, think and behave. Most experts accept that dietary interventions could have an impact on a number of the mental health challenges society faces today. So, why is it that governments and public health authorities in developed economies invest so little in developing this knowledge?

The evidence is growing and becoming more compelling that diet can play a significant role in the care and treatment of people with mental health problems, including depression, ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) to name but a few. If experts are talking about an integrated approach which recognizes the interplay of biological, psychological, social and environmental factors with diet in the middle of it as being key and challenging the growing burden of mental health problems in developed nations, surely individuals can speed things up and do something about their diet themselves and improve their mental health.

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What is healthy eating? What is a good diet?It is estimated that in the UK people eat 4 kilograms of food additives each year. We are not sure what effect decades of such consumption may have on the brain. We dont know for one simple reason governments are reluctant to fund, conduct or publish rigorously controlled large scale studies which look at the effect of additives on human mental health.

Changing farming practices have introduced higher levels of different types of fat into our diet. For example, chickens reach their ideal weight for slaughter twice as quickly today compared to three decades ago this has changed the nutritional profile of meat, according to a report by the Mental Health Foundation (UK). Three decades ago a typical chicken carcass used to be 2% fat today they are a whopping 22%. The omega3 fatty acid content in chicken meat has dropped while the omega6 fatty acids have risen. The same is happening to farmed fish.