Mental health looks at the overall well-being of a persons mind; it looks at how we feel, think and behave in our everyday life. A person’s mental health impacts the way that person lives and interacts within society. By having a healthy lifestyle it promotes the well being of a person's mental health and ability to maintain a good life balance between the ways a person feels, thinks and acts.

 

According to the World Health Organization “mental health is a state of well being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her own community...[it] is not just the absence of mental disorder ” (Nordqvist, C. 2012).

 

Although having a healthy balance in life and the overall well being of a person’s mental health appears to be a great thing to experience, not all people are able to have this experience. Many people will experience a mental illness, as it becomes more common within people. Mental illness can affect anyone, no matter their age, education or lifestyle (Nordqvist, C. 2012).