How do you know what mental health means?

1/22/2025

Mental health is often discussed in broad terms, shaped by clinical definitions, societal expectations, and cultural influences. However, at its core, mental health is a deeply personal concept—one that individuals define based on their own experiences, values, and life circumstances. Understanding how people establish their own idea of mental health can provide valuable insights into how we support ourselves and others in the journey toward well-being.

The Influence of Personal Experience

Our understanding of mental health is largely shaped by our personal experiences. Challenges such as stress, anxiety, grief, or trauma can redefine what mental health means to us. For some, it may involve the ability to manage daily responsibilities effectively, while for others, it could mean feeling a sense of inner peace and contentment. These experiences often lead to self-reflection and the development of coping mechanisms that align with one's unique needs. For instance, someone who has experienced burnout might view mental health as the ability to set boundaries and prioritize rest, while another person who has faced social isolation may focus on building meaningful connections.

Cultural and Societal Influences

Culture plays a significant role in shaping our perceptions of mental health. Different cultures have varying beliefs about emotional expression, resilience, and seeking support. Some cultures prioritize community and collective well-being, whereas others emphasize individual strength and independence. Additionally, societal influences, such as media portrayals of mental health and public awareness campaigns, impact how individuals view their own well-being. The rise of social media has further contributed to this by exposing people to diverse perspectives on self-care and mental wellness practices.

The Role of Values and Beliefs

Each person brings their unique set of values and beliefs into their understanding of mental health. For some, mental well-being is closely tied to spirituality or a sense of purpose in life. Others may prioritize balance between work and personal life or a focus on physical health as a cornerstone of their mental state. Values shape the goals we set for our mental health journey, whether it's practicing gratitude, seeking therapy, engaging in creative outlets, or simply taking time to unplug from the digital world. Recognizing our values allows us to cultivate a mental health routine that feels authentic and sustainable.

The Evolving Nature of Mental Health Perception

As we grow and experience different stages of life, our definition of mental health evolves. What once seemed important in our youth may shift as we take on new roles, relationships, and responsibilities. It’s essential to remain adaptable and open to redefining what mental health means to us as our lives change. Life transitions, such as becoming a parent, changing careers, or experiencing loss, often prompt a reassessment of priorities and self-care strategies. Embracing this evolution helps us stay attuned to our needs and make informed choices for our well-being.

Ultimately, mental health is not a one-size-fits-all concept. It’s a personal, evolving journey that reflects our experiences, values, and aspirations. By defining what mental health means to us individually, we empower ourselves to take meaningful steps toward greater well-being and resilience. Please consider sharing what shaped your understanding of mental health? How was mental health treated in your household as a child? Did you recieve education about mental health and self-care? Did your understanding of mental health change over time as you have had different experiences? Please share in a comment below.

5 Comments

Anonymous User 03

1/23/2025 01:15:46 pm

Over the years, the meaning of mental health has changed as society has become more purposeful in its view of mental health. I can remember when mental health meant, decades ago to the majority of society, as crazy or unable to cope. Limited terms such as nervous breakdown, or mentally ill had such a negative connotation to them. The term mental health held such a stigma to it. Through education, openness, raising a more inclusive society of young people who in turn, grow up and raise their children to be open minded; the term mental health has grown to be an umbrella of better understanding and mental betterment for all. For me, mental health has always been about healthy perspective, healthy thoughts, better coping mechanisms to be mentally well and to have compassion to help those who need supporting. I was raised in a very forward thinking home where open communication was encouraged, where we all talked openly about our thoughts, feelings and emotions and without judgement. That was in the early 80's where mental health was not viewed or embraced as it is today. I'm thankful for that welcoming and inclusive childhood within our home as it gave me a strong foundation to build upon, grow and be able to help others.

I have worked in Social Services and my work experience with mentoring youth who suffered with anxiety, psychological disorders, depression, suicidal thoughts, negative self-talk etc., and worked closely with agencies such the Canadian Mental Health Association and Ontario Shores, has grown my knowledge, perspective and knowledge of available local resources for mental health. Also, having had ups and downs in my own life and accessing resources for my own better mental health, or for family members, has also grown my knowledge, education and solidifies my perspective as it’s personal to each individual. I feel that there are more resources available more so now than in the past, thanks to resources such as online capabilities, access to counselling, Apps, more support groups, more initiatives to promote mental health, both in advertisements and being spoken of/taught in class. For me, all of this is very welcoming for better mental health to be started earlier and successfully managed.

N/A

1/25/2025 08:24:24 am

Mental health is something that has not always been a priority within society. Mental health was something that was considered to be "embarrassing' and "not real" in the past. Now in this society, that has completely changed, in the best way. It used to be shoved aside, like it did not matter and no one took it seriously but now, many of us have Mental Health as our #1 priority. Without prioritising our Mental Health, it can create such a toll on you and your relationships in your personal life. Many individuals think mental health is only considered to be “Mental Illness”, such as depression, anxiety, ODC, etc,, but it is not the same thing. I am extremely grateful that Mental Health has become so normalised and prioritised in this society. Even within the workforce, most workplaces have created resources to ensure their employees have good mental health, which is fantastic. Mental Health is different for every individual on this planet.

What I believe mental health is, is going to be different for anyone I speak to. As this article states, mental health depends on our own personal experiences such as grief, stress, and anxiety (Mental Health Masterclass, 2025). For myself, mental health is always my priority and it includes feeling peaceful such as not feeling extremely stressed out, not over thinking about every small situation that happens to me, and trying to stop myself from the physiological barrier; perfectionism. Some people are not familiar with the term: Perfectionism, which is, in a nutshell, having unrealistic expectations in everything you do in your life and being extremely scared of failure. Perfectionism is something that held me back for years so I make sure that I prioritise it because when I don’t, it takes a big toll on my mental health.

Secondly, mental health for me is focusing on my physical health and ensuring that I have good overall health. This is something that is extremely important to me. In my own personal experience, when I did not focus on my physical health, it brought down my mental health. When I ate healthy and barely exercised, I noticed myself gaining a lot of weight because my mental health was so poor. I did not care about myself or my body, so I was in a rough position. Since I began prioritising my physical health, not specifically to lose weight, but to be happier, it made such a huge impact on my overall health. It made me feel happier, more energised, less moody, and I started becoming me again. That is what mental health is to me, feeling like me again.

Thirdly, mental health to me is prioritising myself, and not other individuals. This is something that took me a long time to do, as I am a people pleaser and I want people to like me. In reality, it dragged my mental health down because I would use all of my time worrying about everyone else’s problems and not my own. I would shove my own emotions and feelings and only be worried about their own. This is a terrible skill to have as when you do this, you are bottling all of your feelings up, pushing them aside, and acting as though they aren’t there. Then it happens again, and again, and again… Until you completely break down. I did that way too many times, starting to lose interest in myself and what made me happy, which needs to be my priority. I will of course, always be there for others in my life but at the end of the day, I must focus on myself first, to ensure my mental health stays healthy.

There are so many aspects towards mental health, for my childhood, Mental Health was not a priority and something that was not “real”. My parents were extremely old school, and did not think to talk about mental health. This was hard for me growing up as I felt I could not speak to them about how I felt, so I tended to hold my emotions back, or shut them out. Overtime, my outlook on mental health has completely changed within my personal experiences, my relationships, and my education. High school never spoke about Mental Health but now that I am in college in a profession that prioritises mental health, I have learned above and beyond on how to help your mental health, resources, different coping strategies, and self-care. I am extremely grateful for the education I have received as it has made me more aware, more relaxed, and definitely more focused on my overall health. My education has helped my mental health in so many ways.

Anonymous

2/5/2025 11:02:48 pm

Mental health has a lot of meanings with a lot of people. As well as a lot of diagnosis that are all categorized under mental health. I learned about mental health in 7th grade when taking health class. I never knew what the word depressed really meant or what it felt like. Same with other medical terms that is called mental health. I've always thought they were just feeling sad, or emotional. Until I figured out that it was much more than that. Health class helped me realize that a lot of people struggle with this, and that some people can be suicidal as well. They taught us how to deal with it as well, and to always be there for friends and/or family who are struggling with it. After that class, I knew that mental health was not something to joke around with, and it was really serious. People who struggle with it are real and are around me, and I had to be careful. I really never fully understood since I thought it was a "just stop being depressed" or "stop struggling" kind of deal and it was done. However, it was more than that and I failed to really understand.

Since I didn't understand it all, I tried to do research, check online. I also had friends who struggled with it, which I tried helping. Then.. COVID-19 hit and that's when I understood it all. I was in the deepest state of depression. During that time was the hardest and can still be hard now. I always thought about telling my parents, but they would never understand. They'd look at me like I'm crazy and think that I'm overreacting, considering I was missing school on purpose and sleeping all the time. I decided to keep it all in, stay inside at all times, even when the pandemic was slowly over. I never really went to class, my parents and I had fights about me missing classes. I've gotten in trouble, grounded, etc. Not only that, but I was really unmotivated and didn't care about anything at that point. All I wanted was to go to bed and never wake up. That's when I realized that this is how others feel when they say, “I am struggling with mental health”. I was now considered as someone going through a mental health crisis. I was someone who wanted to really be gone from the world because of what? I don't know. This really helped me understand the dangers it is that someone could go this low and possibly end it all.

After COVID-19, I decided to look for jobs and get a life. I passed my 12th grade with 50s, but hey, at least I passed. I took the year to think about what I really wanted to do. I got a job, worked there for a bit, applied at college and now I am where I want to be.

I still struggle with mental health, I still struggle with wanting to keep going. However, I keep going for my family (including pets). I keep going because I want to help others as much as I can. I keep going because I can. And that is how my thoughts about mental health changed over time.

DAL

2/7/2025 09:31:17 pm

I have learned more in the past year about mental health than in my life. After many years, I decided to return to school to prepare myself for a new career. A career where mental wellness is imperative. One of the reasons I chose the school I did was because of the courses they offer "for me". In the past year, I have learned and better understand what mental health means. Everyone has mental health, whether it is good or bad, it is there. This is something I have become more aware of in the past year. I had not thought of mental health as having a "good" side to it, I had only ever considered mental health as with people who had mental health issues. I no longer think that way.

During my courses in the past year, I have learned so much about myself and my own mental health. I discovered that my mental health has not been well-balanced for most of my life. I don't have any serious issues that need a diagnosis, but my mental health is in need of help. Since realizing this, I have taken the time to make some changes, it is not always easy and I have days that don't work well for me but I am trying. I have become more aware of some triggers I have and the type of people and situations I need to stay away from. This has been a big transformation for me, I went from not really knowing what mental health was to understanding my mental health and its boundaries.

Understanding what mental health is and how it can affect people in many ways, has made me a more understanding and patient person. The person who snapped at me for no apparent reason, may be struggling with their mental health. Instead of thinking "what a jerk", maybe we should check in with them instead, make sure they are okay, or have the tools to help bring their mental wellness back into balance.

I am not at the stage of mental health balance yet, but I am working toward it. I still have bad days but I am having more good days and bouncing back is becoming easier. We need to remember how important our mental health is and find ways to keep it healthy.

2/10/2025 07:50:46 pm

As a kid, I never really thought about mental health and it was not something me and my family spoke about at home. Looking back it actually seemed to be a conversation that was avoided as I grew up in a very traditionally old school Italian household where they do not really believe that someone can suffer from mental health issues. I grew up associating health with just the physical aspect like being active, eating whole foods and not getting sick as that was influenced by my family.
By November 2021 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, my idea of mental health changed drastically when both my parents lost their jobs and I ended up in the hospital for self-harm. When they first lost their jobs I knew the situation would be tough but I was not near ready for the next few years. I went into a toxic cycle of working almost 70 hours a week to have enough extra money to help my parents but also realize now that I was putting myself through that to distract myself from my reality. I thought it was just about money and adjusting our lifestyles but as the days went by I realized the significant impact this hardship would have on my family and myself. I noticed a change in my parents, my mom who always had a comforting presence about her became preoccupied, tense and on edge, and my dad who would always crack jokes, grew serious and distant. Both my parents were under significant stress, especially my mom as my dad struggled in school and does not have much of an education. He is undiagnosed but deals with anxiety in unfamiliar and difficult situations. Having both spent 25 years in their jobs, updating their cover letter and resume was a new experience for them. While my dad required more support throughout the process, my mom had little support left for herself.
I remember hearing them have arguments, trying to figure out what to do to pay bills while trying to secure them both good paying jobs and raise three kids. I am the oldest so a lot of this began to affect myself, working 70 hours a week, helping them both make resumes and cover letters, maintaining a social life in a time where it was very hard due to lockdowns and trying to manage my own romantic relationship. The immense pressure and emotional toll eventually led me to a breaking point, resulting in my hospitalization for self-harm as I struggled to cope with the overwhelming stress, feeling like I was not doing good enough and burdened with responsibility. I was constantly anxious, worrying about the future and whether things in my family would ever go back to normal.
That was the first time I really understood that mental health wasn’t just about feeling happy or sad but it is more about how we handle stress, uncertainty, and challenges in life. This experience taught me how feelings and emotions could impact our daily lives, our relationships, and also our physical health.
Although it was a tough time for my family, I was given the opportunity to realize and understand that mental health isn't just about pretending everything is fine and “getting over it” but it is really much deeper than that. The positive side to it all is that through this, I learnt the importance of talking about feelings, seeking support from loved ones or professionals and that mental health means finding ways to cope and coping looks different for everyone as we all process experiences differently. I saw how my parents leaned on each other and found new ways to adapt.

How do you know what mental health means?

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