Mental health is the sum of our psychological, emotional and social well-being. It affects the way we think, feel and behave. This means that the state of our mental health determines the choices we make, how we handle certain life situations and how we relate to the people around us.

Being mentally healthy means you can live up to your potential, cope with life’s stresses, live within a community and contribute towards it and work productively. It is the key to living a happy, fulfilling life.

Life comes with lots of pressures and stresses and, as a result, most people experience some form of mental health problem that impacts their mood temporarily. When symptoms persist and start affecting that person’s ability to function at home or at work, the person is experiencing a mental illness.

Mental illness refers to a wide range of mild to severe mental health conditions ranging from depression and anxiety disorders to schizophrenia and eating disorders. Research has shown that one in every four people suffer from a mental illness at some point in their life. Nobody is immune. This is because, throughout our lives many factors can affect our mental health.

Mental illnesses may be caused or triggered by biological factors like biochemical imbalances, genetic inheritance and family history, and traumatic events such as abuse or the tragic loss of a loved one.