Mental Health

What is mental health?

Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices.¹ Mental health is essential at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.

Although the terms are often interchangeable, poor mental health and mental illness differ. A person can experience poor mental health and not be diagnosed with a mental illness. Likewise, a person diagnosed with a mental illness can experience periods of physical, mental, and social well-being.