Mental health refers to our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act, and helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Phew, that’s a lot. When our mental health is off, our entire life can feel off and we can even experience physical symptoms like headaches, muscle tension, and digestive issues. These symptoms can put us at risk for longer lasting health conditions like diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. Untreated mental health conditions can result in unnecessary disability, unemployment, substance abuse, homelessness, inappropriate incarceration, and suicide, and poor quality of life.
When mental health is valued as physical health is, our quality of life improves – our sleeping and eating habits improve, our self-esteem flourishes, we maintain better relationships, handle stress more effectively, and so much more. By focusing on our mental health, we’re able to reduce the risk of developing more serious conditions like depression and anxiety as well. Prioritizing mental health is also a smart investment in the workplace, as it leads to increased productivity and job satisfaction. When ignored, mental health can even negatively impact the economy by costing both employers and employees large amounts in medical bills and through a huge loss of productivity because of absenteeism. By addressing mental health challenges, employers create a positive and supportive atmosphere for their employees and avoid things like burnout or quiet quitting, on top of keeping their employees healthy.
We must continue to expand our mental health resources and strive for a better understanding and awareness of the importance of mental health to our overall wellbeing. After all, mental health is equally as important as physical health and it needs to be prioritized the same. When we focus on taking care of our mental health, our productivity improves, our relationships improve, our overall quality of life improves. We need to come together and take a stand in our communities by raising our voices, voting, suggesting ideas for improvement, and advocating for more. Because mental health matters!
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