Mental Health As a Continum

Mental health : is a state of well-being in which an individual realises their own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life and work productively and is able to make contribution to their community

Good mental health:

• make the most of their potential

• cope with daily challenges

• play a part in their community (e.g./ friends, family, work ext)

Level of functioning, degree of distress → used to assess where individual lies on mental health continuum (healthy, mental problem, mental illness)

High level of functioning

Social and emotional well being

Resilience to life stressors

Mental health problem

• has a trigger and the period of stress is short

Mental disorder: