More than a billion people globally live with mental health conditions. Strategies to promote, protect, and restore mental health affordably and effectively exist. Mental health needs urgent, indisputable action. Mental health is instrumental and intrinsic to our mental wellness. 

Overview: 

Mental health refers to a state of emotional and psychological well-being that enables people to cope with life’s stresses, realize their abilities, contribute to their community, and learn and work well. Mental health has an intrinsic instrumental value and is a fundamental human right. 

Every person experiences mental health differently because it exists on a complex continuum. At any given time, varied sets of individuals, family, community, and structural elements may combine to protect or undermine mental health. Despite most people having resilience, those exposed to adverse circumstances are at a higher risk of developing mental health conditions. 

Mental health conditions will include mental disorders, psychological disability, and other mental conditions associated with significant stress, impairment in functioning, risk of self-harm, etc. The conditions described for people affected by mental illness may well encourage people to inquire what the difference is between mental health vs. mental wellness. Here, it is essential to describe that although the two are linked closely, mental wellness is the extent of mental well-being. Mental wellness not only encompasses the options of mental illness but also combines aspects of the overall psychological balance of the individual. Therefore, as the WHO notes, being in good mental health, or being mentally healthy, is more than just the absence of illness; it indicates a state of overall well-being. Having said that, let us differentiate between mental health and mental wellness to explore how to foster both. 

Mental Health Risk and Protective Elements: 

The elements posing risks and offering protection that affect mental health function across different levels. 

Individual elements such as emotional skills, substance use, and hereditary factors increase vulnerability to mental health conditions. At the same time, social and environmental conditions such as poverty, inequality, violence, and environmental deprivation also exacerbate the risks of experiencing mental health conditions. 

Throughout our lives, protective factors occur to help build resilience. They include social and economic skills, positive social interactions, access to quality education, decent work, safe neighborhoods, and robust community ties. 

Different scales help find the protective factors and mental health risks. While local challenges affect individuals, families, and communities, global threats such as economic downturns, pandemics, humanitarian emergencies, forced displacement, and climate change can impact entire populations. 

Predicting mental health outcomes is challenging because no single moment can reliably predict them. Many people exposed to risk factors may never develop a mental health condition, while others may be affected without being exposed to the risks. However, the interplay of these determinants collectively shapes mental health over time. 

Understanding Mental Wellness 

Although mental health and mental wellness are closely linked, the latter is a broader concept than mental health. Mental wellness comprises not only the lack of mental illness but also encompasses aspects of the overall psychological state of an individual. Mental wellness is about how people feel and how well they can cope with their day-to-day life. Mental wellness changes from moment to moment, day to day, month to month, or year to year. 

Crucial aspects of mental wellness include emotional health, involving the ability to manage one’s emotions, and express them appropriately and comfortably. It’s about feeling confident in yourself with the ability to laugh and enjoy life and feeling generally optimistic. 

Mental wellness also includes psychological balance, with aspects such as self-acceptance, personal growth, environmental mastery, autonomy, and positive relationships with others, as it helps one realize one’s potential and remain engaged in productive activities. It also includes resilience, or the ability to bounce back from adversity, such as stress management and trauma. Their ability to maintain a balance between life activities, responsibilities, and efforts helps to achieve psychological resilience. 

Now that the difference between mental wellness and mental health is clear, let us understand how to promote and prevent mental health. 

Promotion and Prevention of Mental Health: 

Promotion and prevention goals aim to enhance mental health by addressing individual, social, and structural determinants of the condition. Interventions are customizable for individuals, specific groups, or entire populations. 

As the determinants of mental health lie beyond the health sector, effective prevention and promotion strategies require cross-sector collaboration. Education, labor, Justice, transport, environment, housing, and welfare sectors all play crucial roles. The health sector can also contribute by embedding promotion and prevention within its services and by ensuring they lead or support multisectoral coordination. 

Suicide prevention is a global priority within the Sustainable Development Goals. Critical strategies include limiting access to the means, encouraging responsible media reporting, offering support to social and economic learning of adolescents, and ensuring early intervention. It’s helpful if they ban particularly inexpensive and cost-effective highly hazardous pesticides to reduce suicide rates. 

Promoting mental health among children and adolescents is another priority. Effective approaches include laws and policies to protect mental health, support for caregivers, school-based programs, and improvements in community and online environments. The most effective across all income levels among the above include school-based social and emotional learning programs. 

Another area of growing interest includes mental health at work, which can be supported through legislation, regulation, manager training, workplace policies, and targeted interventions for workers. 

Mental Health Services and Therapy 

National efforts to fortify mental health must concentrate not only on promoting mental wellness for everyone but also on addressing the needs of people confronting mental health conditions. 

The goal is better achieved through community-based mental health care, which is more accessible and acceptable than institutional care. It helps prevent human rights violations to deliver better recovery outcomes.  

Such care is best avoided through a coordinated network of services comprising: 

• Combined mental health services within general healthcare are located in general hospitals and through task-sharing with non-specialist care providers in primary health care. 

• Dedicated community mental health services such as community mental health centers and teams, psychological rehabilitation, peer support, and supported living. 

• Non-health settings provide mental health support, including child protection services, scored health programs, and prisons. 

Countries must explore innovative approaches to expand and diversify care for mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety because there is a vast care gap. These include nonspecialist psychological interventions and scalable, efficient, and affordable digital support tools. 

Comparing and Contrasting Mental Health Vs. Mental Wellness 

While mental health and mental wellness are crucial, they are different in scope and approach. Mental health initiatives are often clinically oriented, focusing on supporting and facilitating the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses. In contrast, mental wellness encompasses a broader range of factors that contribute to an individual’s overall sense of happiness and fulfilment. 

Mental health strategies often involve interventions after identifying an issue. Mental wellness initiatives, on the other hand, lean towards a preventive approach that includes creating an environment to support individuals’ overall well-being. 

How to Approach Treatment of Mental Health and Mental Wellness 

Mental Health: 

When dealing with mental health conditions, it’s best to follow the following principles: 

• Create supportive environments: Caregivers must ensure individuals feel safe to discuss mental health problems without the fear of stigma or discrimination. 

• Access to resources: It is crucial that individuals receive access to mental health professionals, employee assistance programs (if employed), and online resources. 

• Training and awareness: Early identification and support for individuals dealing with mental health issues is indeed possible by conducting training sessions on mental health awareness to help in the early identification of the problem. 

Mental Wellness: 

• Promoting positive cultures: encouraging a specific culture that values work-life balance, individual recognition, and social support help. 

• Engagement and development: opportunities for career development, skill enhancement, and decision-making participation can significantly improve mental wellness. 

• Physical environment and policies: wellness programs, flexible working hours, and ergonomic workplaces significantly contribute to mental wellness. 

When trying to navigate the nuanced aspects of mental health and mental wellness, it becomes evident that understanding and addressing these concepts is not only beneficial but essential for a thriving work environment. Understanding these nuances not only helps prevent and manage mental health and mental wellness issues but also encourages an environment where everyone flourishes, realizes their potential, and contributes meaningfully. 

While mental health and mental wellness are connected, their focuses differ and require distinct approaches. Mental health is more concrete and often focuses on the prevention and treatment of mental illnesses. On the other hand, mental wellness encompasses a broader range of factors that contribute to overall life satisfaction and happiness. Therefore, it is essential to understand the differences between the two before judging.