what-is-meant-by-mental-health

What is Meant by Mental Health?

A lot of people are talking about mental health these days, which is obviously a very good thing, but there are still many others who are not even sure what is meant by mental health. What exactly do we mean when we use this term and why is it so important? If you would like to find out the answers to these and other related questions, please read on.

What Exactly Is Meant by Mental Health?

Most of us are very familiar with the terminology surrounding physical health in the 21st century but when it comes to mental health, many of us are not even sure exactly what the term really means and how it relates to us. There are 3 main components to mental health:

  • Emotional Well-being – This area of mental health deals mainly with our personal perceptions of satisfaction and happiness: how we really feel about the lives that we lead.
  • Psychological Wellbeing – When mental health professionals talk about psychological well-being, they are referring to a model of well-being that covers personal growth, self-acceptance, autonomy, life purpose, environmental mastery and positive relations with others.
  • Social Wellbeing – Social well-being dives deeper into our relations with others, covering social acceptance, actualisation, contribution and integration.

If we have good emotional, psychological and social well-being, we are likely to experience feelings of happiness and contentment in our daily lives. If, however, we have deficiencies in any of these key areas, we may find ourselves trying to cope with thoughts, emotions and feelings that are difficult to control.

Why Is Mental Health So Important?

Mental health issues are one of the leading causes of long-term disabilities in the world today. With this in mind, it is vital for all of us to become more aware of the mental health challenges that exist and how they can be overcome. Whether you face these challenges yourself in the future or you have to help a family member or friend to deal with them, you’ll find it much easier if you are well prepared.

At Mental Health & Life, we are committed to helping people all over the United Kingdom learn everything they need to know about their own mental well-being and how to help other people with theirs. Call or message us now if you would like details of the courses that we offer for individual and corporate clients in the UK.

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The Importance of Mental Health Awareness

Many great advances have been made in the field of medicine over the last hundred years or so, to the point where we are now able to cure or manage a wide variety of conditions that could once have proved fatal. Maintaining good physical health is consequently much easier for us now than it was for people a century ago. However, whilst we have also made great strides in the treatment of mental health conditions, much less attention has been focused on the illnesses that affect our minds rather than our bodies. As a result, many people try to ignore mental health issues instead of seeking out the treatment they need: an attitude we are working hard to change.

Why We Need to Raise Mental Health Awareness

Our mission to raise awareness of mental health conditions in the UK is motivated not just by our own experiences but by a genuine desire to ensure that everyone who experiences such conditions is able to access the help they need. There are many reasons that mental health should be taken more seriously than it currently is, by individuals, healthcare organisations, governments and employers.

  • The High Number of Reported Cases – Roughly 15% of all reported illnesses are related to mental rather than physical conditions but the stigma attached to mental illness prevents many people from consulting a medical professional, which means the actual figure is likely to be considerably higher than this.
  • Mental Health Issues Often Lead to Physical Illnesses – Conditions such as depression can lead to serious, even life-threatening physical illnesses, including cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
  • The Cost to the Economy – It is estimated that mental health issues in the UK currently cost employers and the government nearly £120 billion every year. This is equal to 5% of the UK’s GDP and bearing in mind this is a conservative estimate, the actual cost is almost certainly much greater.
  • Suicides – 46% of people who die by suicide have a recognised mental illness. As compassionate human beings, this fact alone should prompt us to take decisive action, sooner rather than later.

Whether you are an employer who would like to raise mental health awareness in your workforce or somebody who is concerned about the mental health of other family members, we can help. We offer a comprehensive range of mental health awareness courses in the UK. For more information, please feel free to call and speak to us now on 020 3984 9825.

the new normal

The Workplace and The New Normal… There Are No Experts!

The Workplace and the New Normal – There are no experts!

 So it seems, as described in my last article the Future of Work. The new normal when it comes to the working world, will be a hybrid one. Employers are now becoming more comfortable with the hybrid working system and are coming to terms with the benefits of it.

 Not to mention that if something like the pandemic was to happen again, we will be safe to carry on working, keep our jobs and keep the economy afloat. Hybrid working patterns can be considered a safety net and a risk management framework for organisations for a more secure and sustainable future!

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A Rallying Call to All Mental Health First Aid Instructors

A Rallying Call to All Mental Health First Aid Instructors

This article has come about from a unique set of circumstances and one that was surely meant to be.

I had waited almost a year to get on my instructor training due to the lockdown. Finally, I did my training. I really enjoyed the course and I was intrigued with the new Anti-Racist training content we were taught. I was excited to finally be a part of MHFA England.

 As a new excited instructor, in-between my 2 co-deliveries and looking forward to being signed off, a process I am sure we can all remember and relate to. I decided to register myself on my first webinar, one on Race Equity for instructors from Black Asian and Ethnic Minority backgrounds.  

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The Benefits of Mental Health First Aid Training

Benefits in Everyday Life

In the UK, one in four adults experience at least one diagnosable mental health problem in any given year. 50% of all mental health problems are established by the age of 14 and two thirds by the age of 24.

This confirms that family and the home environment plays a huge role in the development of mental health issues. This also tells us that families and young people, are the most important parts of society we need to address mental health and wellbeing with.

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The Importance of the Workplace 2021 The New Year Resolution For Everyone

Brexit is done, the vaccine is here!

1st January 2021 is a very special day for the UK.

We have officially left the EU after being a member since 1st January 1973. For the majority of people at working age and the nation as a whole, we are now presented with a new playing field to build an independent economy upon.

No one can predict where we will be in 5yrs or 10yrs time.What we will know in a decades time is, if it was the right or wrong decision to leave the EU.Only time will tell, any other form of prediction on the economy is just guess work, as reliable as Mystic Meg and her crystal ball.

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Smile Britannia

So it seems that we maybe be heading for another lockdown, what you feel about this is shared by millions more people.

Understand you’re not alone and we have all been here before and made it out, and we will do it again. We are more stronger and more resilient than we give ourselves credit for.

Recognise that fact, stand up and stay calm and carry on. The British way!

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The BAME Community and Mental Health

The BAME Community and Mental Health!

Are you aware that the BAME community in the UK are the most likely to develop mental health issues and are the least likely to seek mainstream help?

If you are from the BAME community this should strike a chord with you, as member of the BAME community it certainly does for me.

It triggers the toxic cultural perception of mental health which has been around for generations and is well and truly imbedded in our culture. I feel like I can say this on behalf of all BAME communities in the UK.

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Mental Health First Aid- How to Implement it Within Your Organisation & How to Get the Boss Involved!

Mental Health First Aid- How to Implement it Within Your Organisation & How to Get the Boss Involved!

Whether you represent an organisation consisting of a handful of people or thousands, it is important to have wellbeing policies in place. A lot of the time, especially in small organisations of 1-5 people, these polices may not be written on paper, but there will be activities staff will do together that have the same effect.

In small organisations especially those with a good chemistry, staff will meet up after work, perhaps go for a quick drink and talk about what’s going on at work and in their personal life with their colleagues.

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Did We Just Survive a War? – Life Lessons From Lockdown

As a nation, we are just about to come to what is for most of us a situation that is unprecedented. The lockdown was the closest thing the UK has come to what it would have been like to live in times of war.

No socialising, food running out, unable to see family, people dying, it’s not been pleasant.

During WWII, we had to go to war to save our nation, but this time around all we had to do was sit on our sofa’s, no big deal then?

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