Hello! My name is Amijah Collins. I am currently a sophomore at Eastern Illinois University. I am a Health Administration major with a minor in Business. I chose the topic Mental Health because I work with individuals with mental health issues. A lot of times, people with mental health issues are often stereotyped and treated different from other people. Working with these people has changed my outlook on many different things. They have impacted my life tremendously. I also chose this topic because I would like for people to be aware and educated on mental health. I hope everyone enjoys my blog. Feel free to ask questions (: 

What is Mental Health?

In today's society, people tend to make assumptions about topics they do not know about. Mental Health is one of these topics. Many people do not know exactly what it is, they just look at a person with a mental health issue as something being wrong with them. Mental Health is a very vague topic, and there are a lot of subtopics that go along with it.

Before getting hired at a facility working with people that have mental health illnesses, I was very unaware of the specifics of Mental Health. I knew the general gist of what it was, but I didn't understand fully until being educated and trained.

So... What is Mental Health?

Mental Health deals with our social, emotional and psychological health.  It affects everything a person does. It can affect decisions, feelings, and even relationships. People that have mental health problems experience mood changes, changes in their thinking and changes in their behavior. Factors that can affect mental health are

• Genes or brain chemistry
• Trauma/Abuse
• Family history

According to a survey in 2014, one in five American adults experiences a mental health issue in their lifetime. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. It is responsible for 41,000 lives a year. Understanding and researching what mental health is and ways to cope with problems could potentially save someone's life and help them on the road to recovery.


Source:

A. (n.d.). Www.mentalhealth.gov. Retrieved September 26, 2016, from https://www.mentalhealth.gov/basics/what-is-mental-health/index.html