What is public mental health?
It has been defined as the art, science and politics of creating a mentally healthy society.
Resilience/ community assets
Resilience is the ability to cope with life’s challenges and to recover from, or adapt to, adversity. We are not born with a fixed capacity for resilience. Resilience is something that can be learned and improved on, as well as eroded or worn down by difficult circumstances, so a person’s resilience may change over their life time.
Resilience is important because it can help to protect against the development of mental health problems. People with high resilience are more likely to cope with difficult experiences whilst maintaining a
high level of wellbeing. And good levels of resilience can help us to recover more quickly if we do experience mental health problems.
Three factors that affect resilience include;
- Activities that promote wellbeing
- Building social capital
- Developing psychological coping strategies.
Protective factors for mental health
- Genetic background, maternal (ante-natal and post-natal) care, early upbringing and early experiences including attachment pattern, good parenting
- Personality traits
- Age, gender and marital status
- Socioeconomic factors including access to resources
- Strong social support and network
- Reduce inequality
- Employment and other purposeful activity
- Good relationship
- Community factors such as levels of trust and participation, social capital
- Self-esteem, autonomy, values such as altruism
- Emotional and social literacy
- Physical, social and spiritual health
What are the major risk factors for mental ill health?
- Lower income, debt, violence, stressful life events
- Poor housing, fuel poverty and unemployment
- Alcohol and drug abuse can both cause and exacerbate pre-existing mental health problems.
- Substance abuse can serve as a trigger for latent emotional conditions.
- Chronic heavy drinkers are more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, serious cognitive impairment and psychosis.
