mental health
noun/ˌmentl ˈhelθ/
/ˌmentl ˈhelθ/
[uncountable]- the state of health of somebody's mind
- Volunteering can also improve your mental health and help you live longer.
- She called for more honest conversations about mental health.
- Many of us struggle with our mental health.
- It's important to tackle the causes of stress and poor mental health early on.
- to have mental health issues/problems
- There is often a stigma attached to mental health issues.
Which Word? Talking about mental healthTalking about mental healthTopics Mental healthb2- Do not use the words mad or crazy to describe somebody who has a mental illness. You can say that somebody has a mental illness, has mental health issues/problems or is mentally ill:
- I have experienced mental health issues since the age of 14.
- The pressure made her mentally ill.
- I have an anxiety disorder.
- He had a psychotic episode.
- Disturbed can be used to describe somebody who has problems with mental health because of very unhappy or unpleasant experiences:
- He works with emotionally disturbed children.
- Insane is a formal or old-fashioned term used in the past to describe somebody with a serious mental illness. It can now be offensive, although it still has a technical use in law meaning that somebody is not able to understand that their own actions are wrong or not able to understand a trial process:
- The question is, was the man insane when he committed the crime?
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- the system for treating people with mental health problems
- The government has announced £600 million extra funding for mental health.
- The demand for mental health services rose after the pandemic.
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mental health