Back to Basics
Terms to Know
If you're thinking about addressing your mental health for the first time, you may come across words that seem simple, but you aren't exactly sure what they mean. We've compiled this list to help!
Starting to Think About Mental Health
Mental health refers to our emotional and social well-being and impacts how we think, feel, and behave. It plays a role in connecting with others, making decisions, handling stress, and many other aspects of daily life. Everyone has mental health, and it deserves your attention just as much as your physical health does.
What Plays a Role in Developing Mental Health Conditions?
Most mental health conditions don't have a single cause - they have many possible causes, called risk factors. The more risk factors you have, the more likely you are to develop a mental health condition in your lifetime.
Maintaining Good Mental Health
Whether you realize it or not, mental health plays a big role in your overall well-being. When you’re mentally healthy, you are able to enjoy your life and the people in it, feel good about yourself, keep up good relationships, and deal with stress. It’s normal for your mental health to shift over time – we all face difficult situations in our lives. Creating positive habits is a great way to support your mental health when you're doing well and helps you build skills to use if you do face symptoms of a mental health condition. Learn more about different ways to maintain good mental health by following the links below.
General Info
Food Choices and Nutrition
Exercise
Stress Management
Sleep
Coping Skills
Building A Support System
Think about your physical health. We all have days where we feel a bit sore, have a headache, or are extra tired. That doesn’t necessarily mean you’re sick. You’re sick when something suddenly and significantly changes for the worse or prevents you from functioning properly.
Mental health is similar – the occasional bad day is to be expected, but when things that used to be easy become a lot more difficult, something’s going on. Instead of focusing on physical symptoms, you’ll want to look at your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
What to Do When You Need Help
When living with a mental health condition or facing a mental health concern, it’s common to feel like no one understands what you’re going through. But many people overcome the mental health challenges they face. You aren’t alone – help is out there, and recovery is possible.
IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS: Text “MHA” to 741741 or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a trained crisis counselor 24/7, 365 days a year. Spanish speakers: 1-888-628-9454. Deaf & hard of hearing: TTY users, use your preferred relay service or dial 711 then 1-800-273-8255
- Use our interactive help-finding tool
- Need to talk to someone? Learn about warmlines
- Time To Talk: Tips for Talking About Your Mental Health
- How to Talk to Your Parents About Mental Health
- Preparing to Share: Talking About Hard Topics
- Self-Help Tools
- Types of Mental Health Professionals
- Choosing a Provider
- Questions to Help QTBIPOC Find Affirming Mental Health Providers
- Working with a Provider
- Finding Therapy
- Find an MHA Affiliate
- Finding Support Groups
- Finding In-Patient Care
- Finding Other Local Services
- Paying for Care
- Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Mental Health
This campaign is supported by contributions from Janssen: Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson and Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.
