Mental health is a state of wellbeing that enables you to deal with what life throws at you. It is about feeling resilient, enjoying life and being able to connect with others.
Good mental health helps you:
- cope with the normal stresses of life
- be productive both at work and in your private life
- relate well to other people
- contribute to your community.
Almost half of all Australian adults will face mental ill-health at some point. If it is ongoing or worsening it can become a mental illness. A mental illness can be defined as a clinically diagnosed illness that interferes with an individual’s cognitive, emotional or social abilities. It can affect anyone at any stage of life and can have a negative effect not just on your own life, but also on the people around you, your community and Australia as a whole. Wellbeing is strongly linked to happiness and life satisfaction. Wellbeing could be described as how you feel about yourself and your life. Every aspect of your life influences your state of wellbeing.