Mental Health vs. Mental Illness
Before we can talk about mental health from the computing perspective,
we need to define some terms. Mental health is defined here as
the state of mental and emotional well-being of a person. Everyone has
mental health just like every person has physical health, and it exists
on a continuum from "good" to "poor." Various factors affect mental
health, as discussed in the following section.
Mental illnesses are diagnosable conditions that affect thoughts
and behaviors. Mental illnesses include conditions like depression,
anxiety, and bipolar disorder. Like mental health, mental illness exists
on a continuum, from "no mental illness" on one end to "severe mental
illness" on the other. The causes of mental illness are complex and
involve biological, psychological, and environmental factors.
If we plot mental health against mental illness (Fig. 1), we can see
clearly that every person, regardless of mental illness status, can have
good or poor mental health. Thus, the conversation around mental health
centers on the whole community, not just those who have a mental
illness. In other words, a person can have poor mental health and not
meet the criteria for having a diagnosable mental illness. Poor mental
health can have serious effects in the long-term if not properly taken
care of.