The state of a person’s mental health is very important to one’s overall health. As a matter of fact the World Health Organization sums up health as “a state of complete social, mental, and physical well-being”[1]. Further, all three elements of health—the social, mental, and physical are interdependent which means if mental health is affected, so is social and physical health[2].

The Interdependence

To further emphasize these interdependencies, let’s take a look at various studies. In a study conducted by Barry et. al. (2008), they looked into the connections between affective disorders and Body Mass Index (BMI) in 41,000 adults. They concluded that obese persons are highly prone for acquiring alcohol, personality, anxiety, and mood risk disorder. Further, the study noted that people who are depressed are more prone to have poor health conditions or to be obese[3].

In a different study that looked into the connection between depression and chronic disease, it was also found out that there is a relationship between physical diseases and mental health. One can affect the other and vice versa. As a matter of fact, various studies have looked into this conclusion and have shown that people suffering from depression have higher chances of acquiring chronic illnesses like cancer. Further, those who have a chronic illness like diabetes or cardiovascular disease are at higher risk of getting depressed or other mental disorder[4]^{, [5]}. So, with these studies it is safe to generalize that indeed mental and physical health is interdependent.

Aside from affecting physical health, issues with mental health can also influence the social health of a person. Although, mental problem can be a personal struggle and an isolating issue, it must be considered a public health problem too; because it can affect a person’s common daily activities, caregiving, finances, childbearing, work, parenting skills, and all other social activities. And the stigma that goes with the territory only discourages individuals with mental health problems from seeking help and treatment, which further compounds a problem that is supposed to be treatable[6].

Importance of Mental Health

As we have mentioned earlier, mental health may be a personal struggle but its effects is wide reaching. Further, in a study conducted by Kessler et. al. which looked into the lifetime prevalence of mental disorders, concluded that as much as 46.4% of Americans will experience a form of mental illness within their lifetime[7]. And we extrapolate that figure to the current population of America which is estimated to be 321 million in July of 2015[8] that would mean an estimated 149 million people suffering from mental health problem.

Moreover, when mental health goes under-treated or not treated at all, it often manifests as a performance problem in the workplace. This results in compromised productivity or absenteeism. In the US, the indirect cost of mental illness amounts to no less than $79 billion. As a matter of fact, mental illness is the common cause of work impairment and loss days of work compared with chronic health problems like heart disease, hypertension, back pain, arthritis, asthma, and diabetes[9].

All these combined points to the significant effects of mental health, not only on the individual but on the public as a whole. Its significance is not only due to safety issues, but also for the well-being of the mentally ill and even for the job sector and the community as a whole.

[1] Sourced from: Mental Health and Substance Abuse
[2] Sourced from: Mental Health Matters
[3] Sourced from: Gender differences in associations between body mass index and DSM-IV mood and anxiety disorders: results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions
[4] Sourced from: CDC
[5] Sourced from: DHCS
[6] Sourced from: Mental Health and Substance Abuse
[7] Sourced from: Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication
[8] Sourced from: Census.gov
[9] Sourced from: National Alliance on Mental Illness