Understanding mental health and ill-health

Understanding mental health

The World Health Organization defines mental health as “a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realise their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. It has intrinsic and instrumental value and is integral to our well-being.”

It is useful to think about mental health along a continuum. At one end, people are feeling mentally well—they enjoy life and can connect with others. As we move along the continuum, people may start finding it difficult to cope. 

A whole range of factors—such as biology, social and cultural influences, life experiences, family environment and financial issues—can all influence our mental health. Therefore, our mental health is not static and moves up and down the continuum depending on what is happening in our life or environment. Symptoms and experiences become more severe and frequent as we move further along the continuum.

People can experience poor mental health—such as a temporary or short-lived mental health challenge—but not experience a diagnosable mental illness. Similarly, people living with mental illness can also experience good mental health, especially when they have appropriate supports and care.

Many things can affect your mental health—biology, life experiences, finances, work and family. How these factors interact is different for every person. And your mental health can change over time.

Social and emotional wellbeing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities

Perspectives and experiences about mental health can vary across different cultural groups. 

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people view mental health as the result of the interaction between a range of social and cultural factors and is known as social and emotional wellbeing. Social and emotional wellbeing is at the core of understanding the mental and physical health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 

Social and emotional wellbeing includes connection to: 

• body
• mind and emotions
• family and kinship
• community
• culture
• country
• spirituality and ancestors.

Understanding mental ill-health

Mental ill-health is broad term that both captures mental illness and mental health challenges.

Mental illness relates to a specific diagnosed condition that affects a person’s cognitive, emotional or social abilities, inhibiting their ability to engage into normal day-to-day functioning. Examples include:

• An anxiety disorder – This is more than just feeling occasionally stressed or worried. An anxiety disorder may be present if anxiety symptoms create significant distress or negative interference in a person’s life. Specific anxiety disorders include Generalised Anxiety Disorder and Social Anxiety Disorder.
• A depressive disorder – If a person feels sad, flat or unable to experience pleasure or positive emotions for a large part of more than 2 weeks they may be experiencing a depressive disorder. This may be accompanied by a range of symptoms which can include fatigue, changes in sleep, changes in appetite, withdrawal, feelings of worthlessness or guilt and thoughts of suicide. Depressive disorders include Major Depressive Disorder.
• Bipolar disorder – This disorder causes significant shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, concentration, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. It involves cycles of extreme low (e.g. depression) and high mood (e.g. mania). 
• Schizophrenia – This disorder is characterised by disruptions to thinking and emotions, and a distorted perception of reality. Symptoms can include hallucinations, delusions, social withdrawal and lack of motivation.
• Eating disorders – The main eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. Eating disorders often reflect a complex relationship between weight, body image and food. You can find out more about different types of eating disorders here.
• Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) – People with OCD experience recurrent and persistent thoughts, images or impulses that are intrusive and unwanted (obsessions). They may also perform repetitive and ritualistic actions that are excessive, time-consuming and distressing (compulsions).
• Trauma and stress-related disorders – These disorders include post-traumatic stress disorder, which is a set of reactions that can develop in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event that threatens their life or safety (or the life or safety of others around them).

Mental health challenge: These are life stressors that negatively impact or challenge our mental health, and which would not be diagnosed as a mental illness. These impacts may include the natural ups and downs we can all experience in response to stressful life events such as financial pressures, career changes, relationship breakdowns or other significant life events.

Overview of mental illness in Australia

• At least 45% of Australians will experience a mental illness during our lives.
• At least 20% of adults are affected by mental illness every year.
• A mental illness may affect people differently; some people may recover after a short period of time and other people may experience symptoms or impacts across their lifetime.  
• The causes of mental illness are complex, including interactions between genes, family and social environment, physical health and life experiences.  

Anyone can experience mental ill-health. And most people experiencing mental ill-health can recover.