Mental Health is a combination of two related concepts; firstly it is defined as the quality or level of mental health or a deficiency of mental disease. It is the condition of an individual who is ‘functioning at an acceptable level of mental and emotional adjustment”. Secondly it is an umbrella term that includes conditions that deal with the emotional social and/or physiological aspects of the human psyche and the mental and cognitive process used to organize interpret and evaluate information for self-defence problem-solving creativity and a number of other purposes. Mental Health is also often included in the same category as ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) ADD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) depression anxiety schizophrenia drug addictions bipolar disorders and a number of other mood disorders.
The term mental health was initially introduced by the American Medical Association in 1938 in their manual on the medical terminology of the time which included a definition of the term which read: “the mental or psychological state of an individual at the time of his being examined treated or diagnosed by a professional”. In that document the definition was expanded to state “Mental health has a definite diagnostic and therapeutic significance”. The manual went on to add that mental health is: “an individual’s capacity to cope with the demands of normal life and to function satisfactorily within the limitations imposed by those demands.”
However the dictionary definition of the term mental health has changed since those definitions were created. In recent years many organizations have begun to recognize a new definition of mental health that incorporates a new set of criteria to be considered when evaluating a person with mental health issues: “the general state of the mind of an individual or the ability and willingness to perform normal activities”
