Is there a difference? Yes...and no.
The terms mental health and mental well-being are used interchangeably and ever increasingly. We have gone from being a society of repressed individuals out of touch with our inner workings to a society who talks so extensively about mental health that we've developed a whole new vocabulary around it. Well-being, wellness, flourishing, mind health...
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines mental health as "a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community". It makes no reference to various possible specific diagnoses; depression, anxiety, bipolar, post traumatic distress order. In fact the definition uses both the terms mental health and mental well-being.
What the WHO does do is talk about mental health conditions as a general term and states that people with mental health conditions may experience lower mental well-being. From this we can presume that mental health is relating more to a spectrum on which mental health conditions sit whereas mental well-being relates more to our day to day experiences of that mental health.
The WHO advises that improving mental well-being to ensure good mental health is a job for our whole society and all the structures that play a role in our lives and it is a basic human right for each and every person to live in a way in which good mental health is possible.
Whether you choose to talk about your mental health or your mental well-being the big key is that we are talking about it, we are checking in on it and we are actively looking to improve it.
Comments