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Mental illness happens when the way a person thinks and behaves causes significant distress or impairs their ability to function. Mental disorders are usually defined by a combination of how a person thinks, feels, perceives and behaves.

The WHO state that ‘Mental disorders comprise a broad range of problems, with different symptoms. However, they are generally characterized by some combination of abnormal thoughts, emotions, behaviour and relationships with others.’

Mental ill-health can develop gradually or be a sudden change in the way you approach your life and the way you think, feel, or react and this can create difficulties in your daily living. As a result, life can become very difficult to cope with. There can be periods where it is transitory, where the feelings, thoughts, and behaviours are not experienced for very long, or are intermittent. At other times it may be a prolonged and protracted episode, and seem as if it will never pass.

Mental health problems can range from problems such as depression and anxiety, eating disorders, and addictive behaviours, to rarer problems such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, personality disorders, and PTSD.

On their website, Mind explain that ‘we all have times when we struggle with our mental health, but when these difficult experiences or feelings go on for a long time and affect our ability to enjoy and live our lives in the way we want to, this is a mental health problem. You might receive a specific diagnosis from your doctor, or just feel more generally that you are experiencing poor mental health.’