Mental Health

In today's world, we face a lot of pressures. Whether it's family, friends, school or work, it can be tough at times. You will most likely have questions about your mental health. One of these questions may even include what is the difference between mental health and mental illness? In Ontario,1 in every 5 children and youth have some type of mental health problem. Some common concerns include anxiety, depression, trauma, and self-harm behaviours. 

By talking about mental health openly, you can be a healthy and resilient person. We often hear that we need to take care of our physical health. Eat your veggies. Exercise. Get sleep. But what about your mental health? It needs the same attention as our physical health and there are things we can all do to have positive mental health.

So let's start by figuring out what it is to have positive mental health? The World Health Organization says that it is:

• A state of well-being;
• Every individual realizes his or her own potential;
• Can cope with the normal stresses of life;
• Can work productively and fruitfully; and
• Able to make a contribution to her or his community.

What it really means is that:

• You are able to perform daily activities like waking up for school, eating well, and showering;
• You feel cared for, content, and happy in your life;
• You do things you like with your friends, family, at school, work and in your community;
• You feel in control and hopeful about tomorrow;
• You are able to cope with day-to-day challenges and stress;
• You feel good about yourself.

There's still so much more to know about mental health, visit our pages to learn more.