What is Mental Health?

Mental health is our emotional, psychological, and social well‑being. It affects how we think, act, and feel. Taking care of our mental health is essential for better health and quality of life.

The World Health Organization provides a mental wellness definition: “A state of well being 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.”

The key to mental wellness is rather than staying consistently happy, you should try to pass through life events and emotions with a sense of equilibrium. It is not necessarily about being happy, but being able to cope with the stresses of life and balance your emotional, physical, spiritual, and mental self.

MAGGIE, 21 YEARS OLD

DEFINING SELF-CARE

I would define self care as care for your mental and/or physical well being that you do yourself. Things I consider self care would be daily hygiene practices, doing things I love, catching up with friends/family, taking breaks from work, and giving my mind some peace with meditation/reading.

My Mental Health Story

A time in my life that I struggled heavily with my mental health would be in my sophomore year of highschool. I had been dumped by my boyfriend and it had ended on really rough terms because it turns out he still had feelings for another girl from before he even asked me out. I was left feeling absolutely crushed because I had really liked this guy and he was my first relationship. My self esteem was at an all time low and I still had to go to school, even though I felt like crawling back into bed and crying.

Thankfully, I was able to overcome this struggle with major support from friends and my two younger brothers. I slowly got myself to start doing things I liked that I didn’t have time to do when I was in the relationship. This really helped a lot to distract me from my broken heart, but also to remind myself who I am as a person without my boyfriend.

Slow down to self-examine. If you aren’t able to take care of your own mental health this way, then ask a professional!

They are professionals for a reason!

–Maggie