Mental health - Definition and Overview

Mental health, mental hygiene and mental wellness are all terms used to describe the absence of mental illness. By this definition, mental status has two possibilities: either health or illness.

However other experts consider mental health as a continuum. Thus an individual's mental health may have many different possible values. Using this model, it has been suggested that mental wellness can be a positive attribute, such that a person can become more "mentally healthy", even if they do not have any diagnosable mental illness. This definition of mental health includes emotional well being, having the capacity to live a full and creative life and also the flexibility to deal with its problems. Many therapies and self-help books claim to be able to increase the mental wellness of otherwise healthy people.

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