Where would you place yourself on this mental health continuum?

One of the reasons why stigma remains a major negative — even destructive — issue pertaining to mental illness is because there is a vast ignorance (lack of knowledge and understanding) about mental health in general, and mental illness in particular.

Most people don’t seem to realize that we ALL experience mental health, in the same way that we all experience physical health. And just like physical health isn’t static, but is a continuum, mental health is also a continuum, ranging from mental health to mental illness.

For example, a continuum for a person’s physical health looks something like this:

Based on your overall physical condition now, where would you place yourself on the continuum for physical health?

For some people, it’s a little easier to begin to grasp the concept of mental health and mental illness by using a continuum for mental health like the one below:

Based on your current overall mental and emotional condition, where would you place yourself on the continuum for mental health?

An important note, don’t wait until your find yourself on the “injured” portion of the mental health continuum before seeking professional care; finding yourself on the “reaction” portion of the continuum may be a good motivator to seek support now before your mental health condition possibly worsens.

Scotty