Mental Health and Mental Illness can best be understood as a continuum, on which all people exist. Sometimes we are more mentally healthy, and at other times less so. We move up and down on the continuum throughout our lives, affected by many factors. Grief, loss, disappointment, stress and trauma impact us, as does our physical health, biology and genetics.
About one out of every six people experience serious problems with mental health at one time during his or her life. These problems range from milder, seasonal depressions, to phobias, anxiety disorders, or post-traumatic stress, or to more severe or life-long disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or chronic depression.