Arnuco, Grant Wynn B.

BSN III-A
NCM105b

LEARNING ISSUES: MENTAL HEALTH/MENTAL ILLNESS CONTINUUM

Mental health and mental illness are difficult to define and are influenced by one’s
culture and society. People who can carry out their roles in society and whose behaviour is
appropriate and adaptive are viewed as healthy. Conversely, those who fail to fulfil roles and
carry out responsibilities or whose behaviour is inappropriate are viewed as ill. The society’s
culture influences its values and beliefs strongly, and it affects how the society defines health
and illness in their own lenses. What one society may think as something appropriate and
acceptable may be seen by other society as maladaptive and inappropriate.

No single universal definition of mental health exists. Generally, a person’s behaviour

can greatly provide clues to his or her mental health because every person has its own
interpretation of behaviour that is dependent on one’s beliefs and values. Thus, it makes the
determination of mental health difficult.

Mental health is influenced by individual factors, including your own biological make
up, autonomy and independence, self-esteem, your capacity to grow, vitality, ability to find
meaning in life, resilience, sense of belongingness, reality orientation, and coping or stress
managements abilities that is affected by interpersonal factors, including effective
communication, helping others, intimacy and maintaining a balance of separateness and
connectedness; and by social and cultural factors, including sense of community, access to
resources, intolerance of violence, support of diversity among people, mastery of the
environment and a positive yet realistic view of the world.

Mental health problems generally refer to those changes that occur over a period of
time or that significantly affect the way a person copes or functions. When these changes in
thinking, mood, and behaviour are associated with significant distress and impaired functioning,
it may be that the person is experiencing a mental illness.

Mental illness is the term used to refer to mental health problems that are diagnosed
and treated by mental health professionals. In the medical profession, they are also called
"mental disorders" but this is not a term that is very comfortable to most people. Mental illness
includes: depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, eating disorders, schizophrenia, and self-
injurious behaviour. It is important to recognize that mental wellness and mental health
problems or mental illness are part of an ever changing and dynamic continuum.

The concept of mental health is applicable to everyone, not just to individuals with
mental illnesses. We all have mental health, just as we all have physical health. No one falls into
a simple binary system of mental health versus mental illness. Instead, mental health stretches
across a continuum and it demonstrates this continuum's four stages of mental health.
 In the first stage, “Healthy," a student is able to function as s/he normally would. The
student will be comfortable, confident, and capable of performing at her/his best.
In the second stage, “Reacting," a student has encountered mild, often predictable, and
usually temporary stress. A new job or upcoming deadlines for a heavy set of papers might
serve as the source of this stress. The student in this stage may feel ill or nervous, have
difficulty sleeping, become forgetful, begin procrastinating, and/or reduce social activities. S/he
might seek an extension for some assignments, but will not likely require further
accommodations.
A student in the “Injured" stage experiences more intense or prolonged stress; her/his
functioning is more significantly disrupted. S/he may feel angry or depressed, have trouble
sleeping, become socially isolated, and/or experience a significant decline in academic
performance. In such a case, your campus health or counselling service may facilitate an
accommodation or offer the student guidance on reducing academic demands.
A student in the final stage, “Ill", is experiencing severe functional impairment as a
result of a diagnosable mental illness, such as depression, schizophrenia, or post-traumatic
stress disorder. In this case, the student may have difficulty controlling her/his thoughts or
emotions; feel depressed or overwhelmed; experience constant fatigue; and/or exhibit suicidal
thoughts, intent, or behaviours.
Mental illness is much like diabetes, heart disease and a broken leg — one can live with
it and recover from it. Recovery is not an end state; it does not mean that the individual no
longer has depression, schizophrenia or another mental illness. Recovery means that the
person has stabilized and regained their role in society. Learning more about mental health and
mental illness is a crucial step in dispelling stigma, stopping prejudice and promoting early
identification and effective treatment.