You’re mental
When you hear the word ‘mental’, what do you think of? Here are some suggestions:
- psycho
- nut case,
- away in the head
- looper
- crazy
- mad
- t’n’f
- gransha
- deadly (in a cool sorta way)
People often use the word mental in a negative way, which isn’t very helpful. The word mental simply means ‘to do with your mind’. We all have one of those and hence we’re all mental!
The health of your mind is called your mental health. Mental health is about how healthy your mind is and how well it is working. It is all about your thoughts and feelings and how you deal with the ups and downs of life.
Everyone has times when they have ‘good’ and ‘bad’ moods and these are quite normal. They help us to experience the ‘ups ‘and ‘downs’ of everyday life. What we might think of as ‘bad’ moods can be healthy, such as sadness when we loose someone we love, or fear when we are in danger. But ‘bad’ moods can become unhealthy when they are ‘over-the-top’, don’t go away, and affect the way we think, feel and act.
Having good mental health means:
- enjoying the ‘ups’
- managing the ‘downs’
- and bouncing back.
Just as everyone has physical health, everyone has mental health.
If your mind becomes unwell, you might develop a mental health problem, such as anxiety, stress or depression. Read on to see what you can do to look after your mental health –it’s essential you don’t take it for granted!
