OUR VIEW: Mental health is just as important as physical health

When discussing health and wellness, there’s one thing that always comes up — physical wellness. From eating a balanced diet, to exercising daily, there is always a conversation about maintaining physical health. But overall health includes everything in addition to physical health — one factor being mental health.

Although becoming a common topic in today’s society, mental health is often seen as something separate from physical health. Because we can’t see our mental health, it’s often encouraged to just push through various issues, or to get over different emotions.

However, mental health is just as important as physical health. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, nearly 60 million Americans experience mental illness — that’s 1 in 5 adults. While mental illness is often seen as more severe illnesses, such as schizophrenia or psychosis, mental illness is much more common than most realize.

Severe anxiety, major depression, post traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder and other personality disorders all fall under the umbrella of mental illness. People with these disorders might not think they have a mental illness, but they do.

Although they can’t be seen by the naked eye, mental illnesses are real and require treatment, just like physical illnesses. Those who have mental illnesses who go untreated can experience more severe issues.

According to NAMI, people with depression have a 40% higher risk of developing cardiovascular and metabolic diseases than the general population. Additionally, those with mental illnesses are also likely to abuse drugs, struggle in school or in their careers and can experience problems with the people in their lives.

With May being Mental Health Awareness month, take better care of your mental health on a daily basis. That can look like anything from going on a daily walk, journaling, spending more time with friends and other leisure activities. If you feel like you need to see a medical professional, take the extra step. After all, mental illness is an illness, too.