Definitions of Mental Health

What is Mental Health?

Mental Health is the modern term used to refer to a person’s thoughts, feelings, and emotions in much the same way we refer to physical health, or health in general.

So, to start,  what is health?

The World Health Organization defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” (World Health Organization, 1946). Health can be influenced by a number of factors, including:

• Social connection
• Early childhood
• Work/life balance
• Marital status
• Social mobility
• Access to recreation and affordable, healthy foods
• Income
• Education
• Housing security

Together, these make up social determinants of health. Along with these social determinants, health can be impacted by a person’s genetics, and lifestyle (exercise, diet, use or avoidance of alcohol and tobacco, and many others).

Then, what is mental health?

Health Canada defines mental health as “the state of your psychological and emotional well-being. It is a necessary resource for living a healthy life and a main factor in overall health. Poor mental health can lead to mental and physical illness. Good mental health allows you to feel, think and act in ways that help you enjoy life and cope with its challenges” (Health Canada, 2012).

Everyone has mental health. In the past, physical health was defined as being free of disease. Now, this definition is much more broad. Similarly, the definition of mental health is now understood as a continuum and that individuals can live somewhere in the middle of four main extremes. An individual can have:

• Positive mental health, and minimal to no symptoms, meaning they have the full ability to enjoy life and cope with stresses.
• Negative mental health and a high degree of symptoms, meaning they are experiencing symptoms of a mental health problem, and do not have the full ability to enjoy life and cope with stresses.
• Negative mental health and minimal to no symptoms, meaning that although they are experiencing minimal to no symptoms, they do not have the full ability to enjoy life and cope with stresses.
• Positive mental health, and a high degree of symptoms, meaning that although they have symptoms of a mental health problem, they have the full ability to enjoy life and cope with stresses. Usually, this ability is developed through treatment and/or self management strategies.

Finally, what is a mental health problem?

Anything that impacts an individual’s ability to fully enjoy life and cope with stressors. This may or may not involve symptoms of a diagnosable condition.

If enough of these symptoms are present, this is called a mental health disorder. The fields of psychology and medicine have classification guides for disorders, and an individual with a mental health disorder will meet a certain number of criteria defining the disorder, which will vary based on the definition used by their care provider.

1 in 5 Canadians will experience a mental health problem in any given year

What do you think about that?

When we ask that question, the most common responses are: “that’s very low,” and “that’s very high.” This is one of the most common statistics used to describe mental health problems in Canada. In reality both are correct. 1 in 5 is a lot. That’s 20% of the population. That could be 1 of the 5 people ahead of you in line at the checkout, 8 of the 40 people on the bus with you, or 4,000 people in a small major league sports stadium.

1 in 5 is also more likely than not an undercount, but it’s difficult to measure by how much. The way this statistic is measured, it actually means 1 in 5 Canadians will experience a mental health problem in a given year and seek treatment in the medical system. This means that in order to be included in this statistic, someone must:

• Identify that they have a mental health problem, AND
• Seek treatment for that mental health problem, AND
• That treatment must be in the medical system (through a family doctor, hospital, or government-funded community mental health service).

Those who do not do all three of these things, would not be included. Since experiences of mental health are subjective, it is common for individuals to not recognize a problem when it happens. Because of stigma and other reasons, individuals might not seek treatment. And if they do seek treatment, and that treatment is through a counselor, a self management strategy, or through any other private service, they are not counted.

So, 1 in 5 would be an absolute minimum number of Canadians who experience a mental health problem in a given year, and that number is likely much higher.