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If things are going well and the person is looking after their emotional, mental and physical health
they may be higher up the continuum. Similarly, on the left hand side of the diagram we see that
a person with a diagnosed disorder can also be experiencing either positive or negative mental
health. With the right treatment and proper supports in place the person can live a happy and
fulfilled life with symptoms under proper control. Without these appropriate interventions and
supports the person may experience negative mental health.
Given that 1 in 4 Scottish adults will experience mental health problems at some time in their lives,
we can see that it is possible for us to move into all four corners of the continuum at different
times. Recognition of the changing nature of mental health can help us both to look after our own
well being and also be more understanding and supportive of others when they are experiencing
poor mental health.
Figure Two
OPTIMUM MENTAL
HEALTH
NEUROSES
PSYCHOSES
It has to be recognised that the real parameters of what constitute mental health and mental
ill health are extremely difficult to define. One could readily argue that very few of us possess
optimum mental health also its is clear from what has been identified above very few of us
experience extreme mental ill health; the reality being that for most of us we lie somewhere in
between and in fact probably not static in that continuum.
Common Mental Health Problems
http://www.ssmh.ac.uk/common_mental_health_problems
Anxiety
Anxiety is a normal part of the experience of being human. It is the alarm system that helps us
avoid dangerous and threatening situations and therefore keeps us safe. Anxiety becomes a
disorder when it exists when there is no apparent reason for a person to be anxious. The physical
symptoms of anxiety are distressing and uncomfortable and can sometimes cause the sufferer
to believe that they have a serious medical condition. This belief increases the anxiety and the
person becomes more unwell. One very distressing symptom of anxiety is panic attacks - these are
overwhelming sensations that cause a person to have difficulty breathing and to feel very unwell
indeed. The sufferer often believes she or he is about to die when suffering a panic attack.
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