Mental Health vs. Mental Illness: Understanding the Differences & Similarities
Oftentimes the phrases mental health and mental illness are used interchangeably. This is because it can be hard to distinguish the differences between mental health vs. mental illness. While they have many similarities, it’s important to understand that they are two separate things.
In this blog, we will establish a difference between mental health vs. mental illness, and explain how each can affect a person’s life. We’ll also provide information that can help guide someone who may be suffering from a mental illness to get the help they need.
What is Mental Health and Wellness?
A person’s mental health is a combination of their thoughts, feelings, and emotions. When understanding the differences between mental health vs. mental illness, you must see how the two terms are separate from each other.
Mental health (also referred to as mental wellness) pertains to our mental well-being. This includes our thoughts, emotions, feelings, ability to solve problems and difficulties, our understanding of the world around us, and our social connections. On the other hand, mental illnesses are products of chemical imbalances, and personal experiences.
A person’s mental health and wellness can be affected by environment, biological factors, trauma experiences, and family connections. Since mental health plays a key role in a person’s well-being it’s imperative that it’s taken care of during every stage of life from childhood to adulthood.
Professionals believe a person is in a state of mental well-being when they can realize their own abilities, cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively, and are able to make a contribution to their community. However, when a person suffers from a mental illness, it may inhibit them from achieving their full potential.
How Can You Improve Your Mental and Emotional Health?
It’s important for you to take care of yourself mentally and emotionally so that you can live a happy and fulfilling life. You can do this in numerous ways, and most are fairly simple with a little planning and dedication. Some common ways you can improve your mental and emotional health include:
- Getting professional help if you need it
- Connecting with others
- Using positive affirmations
- Getting physically active
- Helping others
- Getting enough sleep
- Developing coping skills
- Eating well
- Taking breaks when you need to
Making room in your daily routine for some or all of these practices can change your mood drastically. Keeping up with your mental and emotional health is just as important as taking care of yourself physically, which is why you should make it a priority every day.
What is Mental Illness?
The separation of mental health vs. mental illness can be confusing to distinguish. The best way to understand it is to know that mental illness refers to a wide range of mental health conditions. These conditions cause people to experience changes in their emotions, thinking, or behavior.
Depending on what mental illness a person is diagnosed with, they will experience one or a combination of the symptoms listed below. Oftentimes, mental illnesses are associated with distress in multiple elements of a person’s daily life and relationships.
Common Mental Illnesses and Disorders
There’s a wide range of mental illnesses and disorders. Each varies in symptoms, severity, and how long it may last. Depending on which mental illness a person is diagnosed with, their treatment plan may differ too.
However, determining that you are suffering from a mental illness is the first step in every process. Let’s take a look at some of the most common mental illnesses and disorders below.
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders feature excessive fear, anxiety, and related behavioral disturbances. Fear is the emotional response to real or perceived imminent threat, whereas anxiety is the anticipation of future threat that may or may not exist.
One of the most common types of anxiety disorders is generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). A person with GAD experiences excessive anxiety or worry most days of the week for at least 6 months. These symptoms can cause significant problems in a person’s life.
Panic disorder is another common anxiety disorder. A person is diagnosed with panic disorder when they experience recurrent, unexpected panic attacks, and persistently worry about having more panic attacks. These panic attacks can occur unexpectedly or be brought on by a trigger.
Bipolar Disorders
Bipolar disorder causes changes in a person’s mood, energy, and ability to function. There are two types of Bipolar: Type 1 and Type 2. People with either of these types experience intense emotional states that occur for days or weeks.
A person who is diagnosed with Type 1 Bipolar experiences three mood episodes:
- Manic episode
- Hypomanic episode
- Major depressive episode.
In order to be diagnosed with Type 1 Bipolar, a person must experience manic symptoms consistently for at least a week. The symptoms also must be obvious enough that other people notice changes in the person’s mood.
A person who is diagnosed with Type 2 Bipolar is considered less severe because they only experience at least one major depressive episode and one hypomanic episode. The manic symptoms in hypomanic episodes are less severe than those in manic episodes. People with Type 2 Bipolar often also have other mental illnesses such as, anxiety disorder or substance abuse disorder.
Depressive Disorders
There are multiple types of depressive disorders, all of which present the feelings of sadness, emptiness, or irritability. They also are accompanied by somatic and cognitive changes that can significantly affect a person’s ability to function.
The two most common types of depressive disorders include: major depressive disorder, and persistent depressive disorder. The differences between these types have to do with the duration, timing, or presumed etiology.
Major depressive disorder is characterized by episodes that last at least 2 weeks which involve obvious changes in a person’s mood. Persistent depressive disorder can be diagnosed when a person’s mood disturbance lasts at least 2 years for adults and 1 year for children.
Borderline Personality Disorder
Borderline personality disorder is marked by an ongoing pattern of varying moods, self-image, and behavior. A person with this disorder often experiences intense episodes of anger, depression, and anxiety, lasting from a few hours to days.
The symptoms related to borderline personality disorder often result in a person making impulsive decisions. Since someone with this disorder views things in extremes, their opinions, values, and interests can change day to day.
Some people only experience some symptoms, while others experience every one. The symptoms can be triggered by seemingly ordinary events, however, the severity and frequency of symptoms, as well as how long they last will depend on each person individually.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
While it’s natural to feel scared during and after a traumatic situation, most people will eventually recover from the initial symptoms of fear. Someone with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) continues to experience problems relating to their trauma. They may feel stressed or frightened even when they’re not in danger.
In order for someone to be diagnosed with PTSD, they must experience symptoms more than a month and must be severe enough that they interfere with a person’s daily life and/or relationships. Sometimes, people won’t experience symptoms until years after a traumatic incident while others experience symptoms within 3 months.
People can suffer from PTSD for only a short period of time, but others develop ongoing symptoms that are deemed chronic. The event doesn’t have to be necessarily dangerous, it can be any unexpected event that happens suddenly and causes an immense amount of stress.
Schizophrenia Disorder
Schizophrenia disorder is defined by abnormalities in one or more of the following: delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking, and grossly disorganized or abnormal motor behavior. It affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. Oftentimes, a person diagnosed with schizophrenia seems as if they’ve lost touch with reality.
A person is typically diagnosed in their late teen years to early thirties after their first episode of psychosis. Gradual changes in thinking, mood, and social functioning will usually begin before their first psychotic episode.
Left untreated, symptoms of schizophrenia can be persistent and disabling, but there are effective treatments available. The earlier someone with schizophrenia gets help, the more likely they’ll be able to engage in school, work, and personal relationships.
4 Mental Health Services and Treatments
You can work to improve your mental health even with the diagnosis of a mental illness. Mental health services and treatments will vary depending on what type of mental illness an individual is diagnosed with. There are many treatments and therapies a person can choose to help them recover and cope with their illness. Below we’ve listed four common types which are used in numerous situations.
1. Trauma-Informed Care (TIC)
Instead of focusing on treating symptoms or issues related to trauma, trauma-informed care (TIC) provides support services in ways that are accessible and appropriate to people who have or are experiencing trauma. There are five principles that make up the foundation of TIC:
- Safety– Ensuring physical and emotional safety.
- Choice– Every individual has a choice and control over their situation.
- Collaboration– Making decisions with the individual and sharing power.
- Trustworthiness– Task clarity, consistency, and interpersonal boundaries.
- Empowerment– Prioritizing empowerment and skill building.
TIC promotes environments of healing and recovery rather than practices and services that may inadvertently re-traumatize a person. It puts an emphasis on understanding, respecting, and appropriately responding to the effects of trauma at any and all levels.
2. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychological treatment that has proven to be effective in a person’s functioning and quality of life. Mainly used for mental illnesses such as: depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and many others.
The foundation of CBT is based on several core principles, but the main practices include understanding the following about psychological problems:
- They are based on faulty or unhelpful ways of thinking.
- They are based on learned patterns of unhelpful behavior.
- Anyone suffering from psychological problems can learn better ways of coping.
In CBT, an individual is taught to be their own therapist by identifying negative thought patterns and replacing them with motivational messages. People in this type of therapy are encouraged to focus on their current life rather than the struggles and obstacles that they’ve experienced in the past.
3. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
The main goal of dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) is to teach people how to live in the moment, develop healthy ways to cope with stress, regulate their emotions, and improve their relationships with others.
DBT is a modified version of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and is used to help treat mental health conditions such as: borderline personality disorder, eating disorders, substance abuse disorders, and PTSD.
This type of therapy uses a variety of strategies and techniques to help people who have difficulty with emotional regulation and self-destructive behaviors. Some of these techniques include: interpersonal effectiveness, distress tolerance, core mindfulness, and emotion regulation.
4. Motivational Interviewing (MI)
Motivational interviewing (MI) is a type of communication that’s designed to strengthen personal motivation for a specific goal. This guiding style of communication is a balance between good listening and giving information and advice.
This allows a person to explore their own reasons for change within an atmosphere of acceptance and compassion. MI empowers people to find this change by drawing out their own meaning, importance, and capacity for what change is.
