Mental health is now one of the Government’s three stated priorities for the National Health Service (NHS), along with cancer and heart disease. The understanding and concept of health is rather complex, as peoples’ views differ in terms of what it means to be healthy, whether it is a physical or psychological point of view. There are many factors that contribute towards the health of an individual and their community, for example, the environment, the geographical area, genetics, socioeconomic, educational level, gender and relationships. However, World Health Organisation (WHO) argues that the main determinants to health are the social and economic environment, the physical environment and a person’s individual characteristics. Additionally, according to WHO, ‘Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’ (Nordqvist, 2014).…show more content… What is observed as abnormal behaviour or reactions vary between social groups and/or within the same cultures and different social situations. There are currently many different terms used to describe the same thing: mental distress, mental illness, mental disorder and mental health problems for example. Mental health in general is about achieving your potential as a human being and having mental health problems, which are referred to as everyday problems and being able to tackle them. Whereas, mental disorder is a more severe term of mental health, this is where all concept of what is considered as ‘normal’ health has been lost and includes diseases and illness. These include severe forms like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (Golightley,
