Let's not get mental illness and mental health mixed up.
The terms at times are used in a casual sense as though they describe the same disruptions to one's thinking, mood and behaviors. We'll ask for some grace from Northwest Arkansas' mental health professionals as we attempt basic descriptions that might fall short of their own definitions honed by years of education and experience.
Mental health is a broad term encapsulating how one thinks, feels and acts and its effects on choices. Mental illness involves diagnosable medical conditions that impair normal psychological functioning. At the individual level, failing to address either category can lead to harmful and heartbreaking outcomes.
Beyond that, any state or community that ignores mental health or illness as a matter of public policy does so at its own peril.
