Some common challenges to mental health 3.
In this toolkit we use the terms ‘mental health challenges’ and ‘mental health conditions’ to refer to a range of experiences that affect mental health. These terms refer to serious life experiences that deeply impact an individual’s wellbeing and may require medication and even hospitalisation. Some of these experiences are lifelong (often referred to as chronic) and are part of a person’s lifelong health journey. Others are more temporary experiences that occur in response to difficult phases in a person’s life. Mental health challenges are usually characterised in three ways, based on their level
13
DISORDER
• The most common type of mental health problem. • Distress is characterised by a mixture of different feelings (such as feeling sad, worried, tense or angry). • It is often of short duration but substantial severity, and in response to difficulties in a person's life (such as the loss of a loved one, after childbirth, medical illness or traumatic events).
• A more severe but less common type of mental health challenge. • Disorders are more clearly defined groups of complaints that can be classified using a medical diagnosis. • They are generally of a longer duration than distress, and not necessarily associated with difficulties in a person's life. • Some disorders are temporary, and others can be lifelong. For some people, the development of a disorder may follow substance use.
DISABILITY
DISTRESS
of severity:
• The most severe and least common type of mental health challenge. • Disabilities are characterised by enduring impairments in a person’s daily functioning. • They may be present from birth or very early childhood, or they may appear later in life as a consequence of a mental disorder (such as dementia).
