Is mental health and mental illness the same thing?

Answer 1

One answer was:

"I don't understand how you can conceive that the two illness are the same. One is in the brain, the other is physical, pertaining to the body." In fact, there are many issues raised by the question: what is physical illness, what is mental illness, how clearly can these be defined, and is there a difference in clarity between such definitions? A physical illness is named when there is an injury to the body (e.g., a closed head trauma), an infection (as by a virus, fungus, or bacterium), or some systemic dysfunction in the physiology of the body (e.g., toxicity or Diabetes). Ideally, there is a known cause and an effective course of treatment. A mental illness is named by observing behavior and speech. People report their experience (i.e., phenomenology), exhibit emotional expressions, are relatively aroused or relaxed, behave in expected or unexpected ways, and speak in coherent or confused utterances. When these observations violate social norms, significantly interfere with life functions, cause significant distress, negatively affect health, or otherwise detract from the quality of life and the responses persist despite efforts to ameliorate them, a label of mental illness is invoked. The division between "mental" and "physical" is not so easily determined. Many "mental" disturbances are caused by physical injuries, infections, or toxins. Many "physical" illnesses are influenced, exacerbated or even precipitated by psychological factors. Nonetheless, most so-called "mental illnesses" have components that have been learned. Sometimes, there are suspected physiological susceptibilities as well. Many illnesses in both categories can be reliably recognized and named by trained professionals familiar with the tools that science provides. Behavioral observations, laboratory assays and standardized tests are used to measure disorders in both categories of dysfunction. Some illnesses, of both types, elude identification; this is so when the illness is not clearly manifest, or when the science has not sufficiently progressed to make the definition certain. We speak of "physical" illnesses as something people "have." It may be more proper to speak of "mental" illnesses as something people "do." However, people truly suffer from either type of disorder.

Answer 2

Most (if not all) mental illnesses are caused by chemical imbalances in, or injuries to, the brain. Science is learning more and more about the specific causes, and diagnoses are improving.

However, because mental "illness" is usually measured in relation to a standard considered normal, and because definitions of normal can vary, defining it clearly becomes difficult. What is normal behavior for one segment of the population might seem quite abnormal to another*. As the actual physical diagnostics improve, definition will improve accordingly.

*For example, in some parts of the world, eating insects is considered normal, but it might raise eyebrows in Central Park.

Answer 3

Mental illness is much harder to diagnose definitively than physical illness. Something like diabetes is easier to be certain about because insulin levels and blood sugar levels can be measured. We can't measure the levels of brain activity and chemistry yet. Many of the symptoms of mental illness must be relayed by the patient, and there is no way to be sure how accurate their perceptions might be.

Answer 4

yes because people can be physically be healthy but in there minds they could have themselfs all mest up like deprest or woring about every little thing are just a cuple examples! being like this could be bad on your heart.

Answer 5

Not really. They are related but mental health is the measure of how healthy your mind is and mental illness is the same as not being mentally healthy. From one standpoint you could say that they are inverses of each other, but they are not exactly the same.

Answer 6

ask Charles Manson that question, see what he says

Answer 7

You can't see mental illness, but you can see physical illness. An illness of the mind affects how you think or behave, not what you look like.

Answer 8

No. There are many, many different manifestations of mental illness which are not always as clearly defined as physical illness.

Answer 9

yup.