What is mental health?
Over the course of your life, if you experience mental health problems, your thinking, mood, and behaviour could be affected. Many factors contribute to mental health problems, including:
- Biological factors, such as genes or brain chemistry
- Life experiences, such as trauma or abuse
- Family history of mental health problems
Mental health problems are common but help is available. People with mental health problems can get better and many recover completely.
Importance of mental health
Over time, we have heard and even experienced many stigmas that exist around the meaning of mental health. This is because some have viewed it as a sign of weakness or as something unrealistic.
We want to assure you that mental health is a central part of an individual’s overall well-being. Therefore, it is important to receive the help you need when it comes to mental health. You can reach out to people in your life or to a specialist, take a break when you need to and get enough rest.
Mental health helps to adapt to changes and routines in your life and cope with some adversities.
Some causes of mental health.
- Stress
- Depression
- Loss or grief
- Loneliness
- Illnesses
- Change in living arrangements
How to improve mental health and well-being
- Writing down things you are grateful for
- Practising self-affirmation
- Opening up to a close friend/family member or professional
- Exercising
- Spend time doing what makes you happy
- Getting enough sleep
Please seek some professional support if you are still struggling on getting better mental health and individual methods of getting better haven’t really worked.
Early warning signs
Not sure if you or someone you know is living with mental health problems? Experiencing one or more of the following feelings or behaviours can be an early warning sign of a problem:
- Eating or sleeping too much or too little
- Pulling away from people and usual activities
- Having low or no energy
- Feeling numb or like nothing matters
- Having unexplained aches and pains
- Feeling helpless or hopeless
- Smoking, drinking or using drugs more than usual
- Feeling unusually confused, forgetful, on edge, angry, upset, worried, or scared
- Yelling or fighting with family and friends
- Experiencing severe mood swings that cause problems in relationships
- Having persistent thoughts and memories you can’t get out of your head
- Hearing voices or believing things that are not true
- Thinking of harming yourself or others
- Inability to perform daily tasks like taking care of your kids or getting to work or school
What we’re doing about mental health
We are working to develop a better mental health system that improves the lives of people with, or at risk of, mental illness. We do this in many ways, including:
- developing policies and plans to guide government action on mental health issues
- funding initiatives, programs and services that help people experiencing mental illness
- reviewing programs and services, and consulting relevant stakeholders when deciding how to improve them
- funding research into mental health issues to develop new approaches to prevention, diagnosis, treatment and recovery
- funding work to prevent suicide
- funding preventive health initiatives that focus on mental health
Mental health support during COVID-19
The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, physical distancing and isolation can make us feel anxious, stressed and worried. Read about what you can do to look after your mental wellbeing and look out for those around you as we tackle these challenges together.
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