Mental Health is a state of psychological health or a lack of mental disease. It is usually the state of a person who is “acting at a satisfactory degree of emotional and/or behavioral adjustment”. It also includes disorders that occur within a person’s mind as well as their emotions. This may include anxiety, depression, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, and eating disorders.
There are many ways to assess or measure mental health disorders. The most common are the clinical scales that using the Structured Clinical Interview for Mental Disorders, which is commonly called the SCID. These instruments have a great deal of validity and reliability. Some additional tests include the BIS-11 (Body Image Scale) and the PHQ-9 (Psychiatric Inventory). The SCID and the BIS-11 are often used in conjunction with one another. A person’s level of social functioning is measured with the SF-36 and the CDI (County version), respectively. There is also the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), which measures the overall health and quality of life.
The diagnosis of mental health is very subjective and can be difficult because symptoms of the illness can overlap with those of other illnesses. Therefore, diagnosis is usually based on clinical history, mental status examinations, laboratory tests, imaging studies, and sometimes psychological tests. Medication, surgery, or psychotherapy are usually recommended by mental health professionals. There are many different types of therapy and treatments for those suffering from mental disorders.
