What is it mental health?

You can feel it, but you can't touch it
You can see it in others, but you can't always see it in yourself
You could loose it and wonder what was missing..

What is it? - It is our mental health, it is our emotional health, it is about well being and it is about how we feel!

But what exactly does that mean?

Of course it means different things to different people. It isn’t something that stays static, always looking and feeling the same. Mental health can change from moment to moment, from day to day. That is one of the fascinating things about mental health because by recognising how and when it changes we can learn to respond to our own mental health needs. What affects and improves our mental health and sense of well being depends on, who we are with, if someone smiled or didn't smile, how well we sleep, how happy we feel, how able we are to express our needs, our likes and dislikes, having family and friends there for us when we need them. But the list is endless and unique to every one.

Mental health is about being able to manage our lives, feeling secure - with ourselves, other people, and within our communities, feeling respected and valued for who we are and what we do.

There is no single recipe for wellbeing - but there are ingredients which we know will have a positive effect.

Our time, our energy, our sense of who we are, where we belong, our relationships are some of the basic ingredients for good mental health and it makes sense to keep an eye on them and do a "stock control" every now and again.

How we replenish and mix the ingredients will be our own unique recipe. But at times we may need, more sleep, a bit more exercise or activity, some time to ourselves, time to talk to someone, and do the things we know help us to feel "the best".

Too often we take our health for granted. We may talk more readily about our physical health but our emotional health is usually ignored. When someone asks 'how are you?' we simply say 'fine' which may mean don't ask!
When our wellbeing dips or takes a plunge we find it hard to keep going, to enjoy life, and it also affects our physical health. If you are feeling stressed, you will feel tired, forgetful, tearful, easily fall out with people and end up with a headache! But which came first?

What is mental health?

What do you think when you see the words - mental health? Can you get past the word "mental" - and see it alongside "health"?

It may depend on your experience of mental ill health, how you or someone you know was treated during their illness and afterwards, who was around to offer help, encouragement and support. It's important to realise that when people have a problem with their mental health and become ill, they can also feel mentally and emotionally well, able to make decisions, go to work, be a friend, a parent………

It really is hard to define and describe mental health, because it means so many different things and is dependent on all manner of unseen events and experiences.

The important thing to remember is - How you feel is how you feel.-

What is well being?

People in the Western Isles have said well being is about:

• Liking yourself
  
• Being to cope and manage our lives
  
• Feeling safe
  
• Being able to talk about feelings of happiness, joy, sadness, grief and other emotions
  
• Freedom from fear
  
• Being able to enjoy life, have fun
  
• Having choices
  
• Having friends and family
  
• And the weather

What does it mean to you?