Medical Definition of "mental health" (provided by Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
- 1 : the condition of being sound mentally and emotionally that is characterized by the absence of mental illness and by adequate adjustment especially as reflected in feeling comfortable about oneself, having positive feelings about others, and being able to meet the demands of daily life; also: the general condition of one's mental and emotional state <Finding the flexibility and balance that is required for good mental health is a challenge we all face.—Christy Turlington, Psychology Today, July/August 2001>
- 2 : health care dealing with the promotion and improvement of mental health and the treatment of mental illness:mental hygiene—often used before another noun <mental health professionals> <a mental health clinic>(Merriam-Webster.com)
Do you know what it means? Even after reading the definition, some people are still scratching their heads. Mental Health can mean many things to everyone, but to me it means something much more than a Google search. For the last 11 years of my life, I have been dealing with keeping my mental health in check. When it first started becoming a “problem," even talking about mental health issues was taboo. But the term in itself is not a bad thing; it is a positive thing to have mental health. But what happens when you have bad mental health? At 14 I discovered that I was suffering from anxiety, which later led to depression. Keeping everything in check was on the top of my list, but I had to keep these struggles to myself.
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Going through the motions of trying to function in daily life became harder and harder. Luckily, for me, I had my mom and family by my side throughout all of this. The constant back and forth of meds, no meds, therapy and no therapy became so hard to keep up with that I finally threw up my hands and said: “I have had enough!” Why should I be trying to “fix” myself when this was how I was intended to live? Trying to mold myself to fit societies' view of a “perfect picture of mental health” was something that almost ended up killing me. It took me many years to realize that my mental health is my own. It has nothing to do with anybody else, and it is perfectly fine the way it is. At 25, I am finally content with how my mental health is. I am still struggling with anxiety every single day. I no longer view the words “Mental Health” as offensive, and no one should view it that way.
