The term, ‘mental health problem’ covers a wide range of problems which affect someone’s ability to get on with their daily life. Mental health problems can affect anyone, of any age and background, as well as having an impact on the people around them such as their family, friends and carers.
Most people recover from their mental health problems. Long-term problems can lead to considerable disruption and difficulty in people's lives, but many of the people affected find ways of managing their problems and are able to lead active lives.
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Mental health problems result from a complex interaction of biological, social and psychological factors, but are still usually discussed in medical terms.
Most mental health symptoms have traditionally been divided into groups called either ‘neurotic’ or ‘psychotic’ symptoms. ‘Neurotic’ covers those symptoms which can be regarded as severe forms of ‘normal’ emotional experiences such as depression, anxiety or panic. Conditions formerly referred to as “neuroses” are now more frequently called “common mental health problems.”
Less common are ‘psychotic’ symptoms, which interfere with a person’s perception of reality, and may include hallucinations such as seeing, hearing, smelling or feeling things that no-one else can. Some mental health problems feature both neurotic and psychotic symptoms.
As well as distinguishing between neurotic and psychotic symptoms, psychiatrists sub-divide different kinds of mental health disorders in other ways:
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When someone experiences severe and or enduring mental health problems they are sometimes described as mentally ill. However, there are certain difficulties with this term.
The term mental illness can misleadingly imply that all mental health problems are solely caused by medical or biological factors. In fact, most mental health problems result from a complex interaction of biological, social / psychological factors.
For many people, the existing systems of categorising illnesses do not relate closely enough to their experiences. Some people, including some professionals, prefer not to accept diagnoses which may be misleading or stigmatising.
More infomation about mental illness
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On average 1 in 4 people will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year. However, of these, only a relatively small number will be diagnosed with a serious and enduring mental health problem.
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Return to Mental health overview
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