Learn About Mental Health (A1.2 JS)

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Mental health is not only the avoidance of serious mental illness. Your mental health is affected by numerous factors from your daily life, including the stress of balancing work with your health and relationships. In this section you will find resources to help you stay mentally fit and healthy.

Characteristics of Mental Health

Understanding the characteristics that make up good mental health will help you determine how mentally fit you are. Here are some real-life examples:

• Ability to enjoy life
  
  You’ve just become engaged. You join your friends and family in celebrating the future you are planning with your partner. You realize that life before and after your marriage will bring challenges, but worries about problems that may crop up do not dim the joy you feel.

• Resilience
  
  Due to changes in the marketplace, you are suddenly laid off from a job you love. You are shocked and angry, but those emotions fade quickly as you put the event in perspective. You gather solid references, revamp your resume and begin your job search.

• Balance
  
  An old friend confronts you, saying you never have time for him. You are taken aback and give excuses of overwork. Then you look at it from their point of view and realize you have been letting that relationship and other personal interests slide. You make a commitment to restore the balance.

• Self-actualization
  
  While working full-time at an undemanding job, you take a night course in a field that has always intrigued you. You realize your talents and interests lie with this other area. You consult your teacher for advice and begin pursuing a new career path.

• Flexibility
  
  The love of your life has walked out. You are devastated and feel like all your plans for the future have been ruined. After grieving for a time, you begin to see that your expectations of the relationship and of your partner were unrealistic. Gradually, you reconsider what you want and expect from a partner.

Looking for mental health tips or interested in more information about a specific mental health issue? Read more in our brochures below. Printed copies can be ordered from ShopCMHA.

Your mental health is affected by numerous factors from your daily life, including the stress of balancing work with your health and relationships. In this section you will find resources to help you stay mentally fit and healthy.

Mental health is not only the avoidance of serious mental illness. Your mental health is affected by numerous factors from your daily life, including the stress of balancing work with your health and relationships. In this section you will find resources to help you stay mentally fit and healthy.

COVID-19 and Mental Health

A pandemic is a very stressful event for individuals and communities. It’s normal to feel some stress and anxiety. It’s also very common for people to display great resiliency during times of crisis.

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Understanding The Symptoms

Although mental illnesses have a lot in common with each other, each type is quite different. Symptoms of mental illness can look different from person to person. Knowing if you need help and how to get it are important steps. Probably the best way to know if you might have a mental illness is if you’re not feeling, thinking or acting like yourself—or if people you care about notice changes in you like some of the following.

Mental Health Topics

Mental illnesses are health problems that affect the mind – your thoughts, your emotions, your behaviours. There are many different mental illnesses, and they affect people in different ways.

For more information about specific mental health issues and illnesses, click on the links below.

• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Anxiety Disorders
• Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Children and Youth
• Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Adults
• Bipolar Disorder
• Borderline Personality Disorder
• Coping with Mental Health Crises and Emergencies
• Depression
• Eating Disorders
• Evaluating Mental Health and Substance Use Information
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Getting Help for Mental Illnesses
• Mental Illnesses in Children and Youth
• Mood Disorders
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• Panic Disorder
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Postpartum Depression
• Psychosis
• Schizophrenia
• Seasonal Affective Disorder
• Self-harm
• Social Anxiety Disorder
• Supporting a Friend or Family Member
• Youth and Self-Injury