12.2 The Basics: Mental Health and Mental Illness as a Social Problem
12.2 The Basics: Mental Health and Mental Illness as a Social Problem
Kathryn Burrows
In our everyday lives, we might say someone is crazy. Or we might say that we feel out of it. These terms are commonly used, but social scientists must be more precise in their language.
Once we have defined our terms, we explore why mental health and mental illness are social problems, not just individual ones.
What Do We Mean, Really?
In “Kate’s Story,” which opens this chapter, the people used their diagnosis to sort people into groups. But what does that actually mean?
Mental health is a state of mind characterized by emotional well-being, good behavioral adjustment, relative freedom from anxiety and disabling symptoms, and a capacity to establish constructive relationships and cope with the ordinary demands and stresses of life (American Psychological Association 2023). It includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices.
Mental health includes subjective well-being, autonomy, and competence. It is the ability to fulfill your intellectual and emotional potential. Mental health is how you enjoy life and create a balance between activities. Cultural differences, your own evaluation of yourself, and competing professional theories all affect how one defines mental health. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.
When sociologists study mental health, they look at trends across groups. They look at how mental health varies between all genders, different racial and ethnic groups, different age groups, and people with different life experiences, including socioeconomic status. In addition to this, though, they also explore the factors that maintain—or distract from—mental health, such as stress, resilience, and coping factors, the social roles we hold, and the strength of our social networks as a source of support.
The term mental health doesn’t necessarily imply good or bad mental health. At some times in your life, you will feel really good and have good coping skills, strong social networks, a fulfilling career, and a healthy personal and family life. At other times, things may not be going so well for you. You may have work or family conflicts, you find yourself engaging in poor coping skills, not contacting your social network for support. Both times, you are dealing with mental health. In the next section, we will explore the concept of mental illness, which, contrary to common belief, is not the opposite of mental health. Rather, it is one type of experience a person can have with their mental health.
Throughout your life, if you experience mental health problems, your thinking, mood, and behavior could be affected. Some early signs related to mental health problems are sleep difficulties, lack of energy, and thinking of harming yourself or others. Many factors con