{"id":100739,"date":"2018-12-27T11:00:50","date_gmt":"2018-12-27T11:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/?p=100739"},"modified":"2022-11-29T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-11-29T12:00:00","slug":"what-is-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-mental-health.htm","title":{"rendered":"What is Mental Health, Anyway? The Myths You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_100742\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-100742\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-100742\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/12890613635_96782968c6-400x300.jpg\" alt=\"mental health\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/12890613635_96782968c6-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/12890613635_96782968c6.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-100742\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">By: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/hey__paul\/12890613635\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\" \">Hey Paul Studios<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Mental health is a buzzword lately<\/strong>. But what is mental health, exactly?<\/p>\n<p><em>And what misunderstandings about mental health do you need to watch out for?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>[<span style=\"color: #666699;\">Worried about your mental health and need to talk to someone, soon? <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><a style=\"color: #333399;\" href=\"https:\/\/harleytherapy.com\/?utm_source=Harley%20Therapy%20Blog&amp;utm_content=Mid%20Post\">Book one of our online therapists<\/a><\/span> now and be talking as soon as tomorrow.]<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>What is mental health?<\/h3>\n<p>Mental equals mind, true.<\/p>\n<p><strong>But to say that mental health is just about your thinking is missing the mark.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Mental health includes your thoughts as well as your emotions, behaviours, and ways of relating to others.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3>The ingredients of good mental health<\/h3>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-the-icd-10.htm\">World Health Organisation (WHO)<\/a> puts<a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/facts-in-pictures\/detail\/mental-health\"> their definition of mental health<\/a> as,\u00a0&#8220;a state of well-being in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>So to break that down, if we are mentally healthy,\u00a0 we can:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>cope with daily life<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-resilience.htm\">be resilient<\/a> in the face of challenges<\/li>\n<li>take positive actions<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/self-care-a-help-guide.htm\">take care of ourselves<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/building-confidence.htm\">Feel good about ourselves<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/how-to-set-goals-that-work.htm\">work towards our potential<\/a><\/li>\n<li>and have<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/healthy-relationships-help-guide.htm\"> successful relationships<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Then what is mental illness?<\/h3>\n<p><strong>The opposite of mental health is mental illness. <\/strong>And looking at the above, it becomes easy to see what mental illness is.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Mental illness\u00a0 means we can\u2019t cope with day to day life. Our thoughts and moods leave us distressed, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/decision-making-skills-mental-health.htm\">making poor decisions<\/a>,\u00a0 not feeling good about ourselves, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/communication-problems.htm\">sabotaging relationships<\/a>, and unable to function.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div id=\"attachment_100743\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/35627767324_e8d4be6163.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-100743\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-100743\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/35627767324_e8d4be6163-400x400.jpg\" alt=\"what is mental health\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/35627767324_e8d4be6163-400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/35627767324_e8d4be6163-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/35627767324_e8d4be6163.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/35627767324_e8d4be6163-200x200.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/35627767324_e8d4be6163-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-100743\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">By: Free Images<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Again, our mental health includes <em>behaviours<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>So if you aren\u2019t sure whether you have good mental health, look to the ways you are behaving. <\/strong>Things like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/addiction-help-guide.htm\">addictions<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/rise-in-self-harming.htm\">self-harm<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/self-care-and-depression.htm\">poor self-care<\/a> can all signify that you have mental health issues and need support.<\/p>\n<h3>Myths about mental health<\/h3>\n<p><em>There are far too many myths about mental health out there. Here are a few.<\/em><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #993366;\">1.There is an exact formula for good mental health.<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Not at all. What makes you feel inspired to take care of yourself, feel good in the world, and live out your potential might be entirely different than what works for someone else. Some people find<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/exercise-and-depression-does-it-really-help.htm\"> mental health through sport<\/a>, others through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/spirituality-and-mental-health.htm\">spirituality<\/a>, for example.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #666699;\">Find what works uniquely for you, no matter what others might think.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #993366;\">2. It\u2019s obvious when someone has bad mental health. They are \u2018mental\u2019.<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><strong>First of all, calling someone \u2018mental\u2019 is entirely<\/strong> unhelpful. It <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/handling-depression-stigma.htm\">creates a stigma<\/a> around something that we all go through. You, too, will one day struggle to cope in the face of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/how-to-cope-life-is-crazy.htm\">life change<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Secondly, mental health issues can be far from obvious. Sometimes the person who seems the most together is suffering the most<\/strong>, and the person who always goes on about their troubles actually feels quite stable beneath it all.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #666699;\">So don\u2019t assume you know someone\u2019s mental health. Or think that because someone seems to be doing well they don\u2019t need you to ask them how they are. Ask anyway, then listen carefully.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #993366;\">3. Positive thinking is the most important.<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Conscious <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/negative-thoughts.htm\">negative thoughts <\/a>do tend to lead to negative moods and negative actions (this idea is at the core of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/cognitive-behavioural-therapy-london.htm\">CBT therapy<\/a>). And it can be helpful to learn more<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/balanced-thinking-benefits.htm\"> balanced ways of thinking.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>But if we experienced a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-are-adverse-childhood-experiences-aces.htm\">difficult upbringing<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/how-can-i-remember-childhood-trauma-abuse.htm\">childhood trauma,<\/a> then trying to change things with a bit of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/benefits-of-positive-thinking.htm\">positive thinking<\/a> will do very little.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In fact trying to &#8216;positivize&#8217; away deep inner pain can make our mental health worse, instead of better.<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/repressed-memories-are-they-real.htm\">Repressing memories and emotions<\/a> can cause <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/types-of-depression.htm\">depression<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/dissociation.htm\">dissociation<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/dealing-with-anxiety.htm\">anxiety<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>So mental health is much, much more than positive thinking! To achieve mental health we might, for example, need to actually<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/crying-for-no-reason.htm\">\u00a0let ourselves cry<\/a> and think all the\u00a0<em>negative\u00a0<\/em>things we&#8217;ve been denying.<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #993366;\">4. If you have a personality disorder diagnosis you will never have good mental health.<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>A<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/personality-disorder-a-help-guide.htm\"> personality disorder<\/a> means you see yourself, the world, and others in a way that is different to most people. This can cause <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/bad-at-dealing-with-conflict.htm\">conflict<\/a>, which can leave you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-to-do-if-you-feel-depressed.htm\">depressed<\/a> and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/7-surprising-reasons-feeling-lonely.htm\"> lonely<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>But it does not mean you have to have poor mental health.<\/strong> If you learn to understand the ways you are<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_100741\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-100741\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-100741\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/32686269853_7bea1e210f-400x266.jpg\" alt=\"what is mental health\" width=\"400\" height=\"266\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/32686269853_7bea1e210f-400x266.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/32686269853_7bea1e210f.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/32686269853_7bea1e210f-180x120.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-100741\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">By: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/liveoncelivewild\/32686269853\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\" \">Live Once Live Wild<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>different and how you can behave around others in more helpful ways?\u00a0 You can start to feel better about yourself and your life.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #666699;\">Remember, mental health is about coping and reaching your potential, not being like everyone else.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #993366;\">5. Mental health has nothing to do with physical health.<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>For a long time the idea that mental and physical health were connected was seen as an \u2018alternative\u2019 idea.<\/p>\n<p><strong>But now research shows that the two are indeed interlinked.<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/exercise-and-depression-does-it-really-help.htm\"> Exercise can make us feel better<\/a>, and mental illness can leave us more prone to ongoing colds and flu or to serious illness.<\/p>\n<p>In the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/facts-in-pictures\/detail\/mental-health\">World Health Organisation&#8217;s fact file on mental health<\/a>, they state that &#8220;mental disorders increase the risk of getting ill from other diseases such as HIV, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and vice-versa.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>What can you do if your mental health isn&#8217;t good?<\/h3>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #800080;\">The most important thing you can do is not judge yourself. It&#8217;s not a competition. And the more we put ourselves down for struggling mentally, then worse we feel. Remind yourself that everyone, at some point in life, has mental health challenges.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>We are living in a time with more information available than ever before. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/bibliotherapy-read-yourself-better.htm\">Self-help<\/a> is a great start. There are great books, articles, and forums you can access.<\/p>\n<p><strong>But don&#8217;t make the mistake of thinking that self-help equals support.<\/strong> The truth is that when we are struggling with mental health issues it can be hard to &#8216;see the wood for the trees&#8217;. We lose sight of what we need or how to make good decisions. And our friends and family, who want the best for us, can be too invested to tell us what we need to hear.<\/p>\n<p>A<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/difference-between-psychotherapy-and-counselling.htm\"> counsellor or therapist<\/a> is trained to help you move forward and creates a safe space for you to do so. And nowadays counselling and therapy is more affordable than ever. If you are worried about finances, read our article on &#8216;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/low-cost-therapy-free-counselling-services.htm\">Low Cost Counselling<\/a>&#8216; for inspiration on finding the help you need.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Ready to change your mental health for the better? We connect you with some of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/therapists.htm\"><span style=\"color: #666699;\">London&#8217;s best counselling psychologists<\/span><\/a>. Not in London or the UK? Use our online <span style=\"color: #666699;\"><a style=\"color: #666699;\" href=\"https:\/\/harleytherapy.com\/?utm_source=Harley%20Therapy%20Blog&amp;utm_content=Post%20End\">booking platform<\/a><\/span> to <span style=\"color: #666699;\"><a style=\"color: #666699;\" href=\"https:\/\/harleytherapy.com\/therapists?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=harleytherapy.co.uk&amp;utm_content=Post%20End\">find an online therapist<\/a><\/span> today.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mental health is a buzzword lately. But what is mental health, exactly? And what misunderstandings about mental health do you need to watch out for? [Worried about your mental health and need to talk to someone, soon? Book one of our online therapists now and be talking as soon as tomorrow.] What is mental health? [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":100743,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"yes","_lmt_disable":"no","footnotes":""},"categories":[125],"tags":[74,343],"class_list":["post-100739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-self-esteem","tag-mental-health","tag-wellbeing","has_thumb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What is Mental Health, Anyway? The Myths You Need to Know - Harley Therapy\u2122 Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is mental health? It&#039;s not just about the way we think. Learn what mental health is, why it matters, and the myths you recognise about mental health.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is Mental Health, Anyway? The Myths You Need to Know\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What is mental health? It&#039;s not just about the way we think. Learn what mental health is, why it matters, and the myths you recognise about mental health.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-mental-health.htm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Harley Therapy\u2122 Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/harleytherapy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-12-27T11:00:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-11-29T12:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/35627767324_e8d4be6163.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andrea M. Darcy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/AndreaMDarcy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@HarleyTherapy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andrea M. Darcy\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/what-is-mental-health.htm\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/what-is-mental-health.htm\",\"name\":\"What is Mental Health, Anyway? The Myths You Need to Know - Harley Therapy\u2122 Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/what-is-mental-health.htm#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/what-is-mental-health.htm#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/35627767324_e8d4be6163.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-12-27T11:00:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-29T12:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"What is mental health? It's not just about the way we think. Learn what mental health is, why it matters, and the myths you recognise about mental health.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/what-is-mental-health.htm#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/what-is-mental-health.htm\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/what-is-mental-health.htm#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/35627767324_e8d4be6163.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/35627767324_e8d4be6163.jpg\",\"width\":500,\"height\":500,\"caption\":\"By: Free Images\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/what-is-mental-health.htm#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What is Mental Health, Anyway? The Myths You Need to Know\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/\",\"name\":\"Harley Therapy\u2122 Blog\",\"description\":\"Self-Help for Better Emotional Health\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Harley Therapy - Psychotherapy & Counselling\",\"alternateName\":\"Harley Therapy\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/images\\\/logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/cropped-harleytherapypsychotherapycounsellinglogo.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Harley Therapy - Psychotherapy & Counselling\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/harleytherapy\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/HarleyTherapy\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/harley-therapy\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/c\\\/HarleyTherapyCoUk\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/harleytherapy\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/uk.trustpilot.com\\\/review.harleytherapy.co.uk\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.reviews.co.uk\\\/company-reviews\\\/store\\\/harleytherapy-co-uk\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.crunchbase.com\\\/organization\\\/harley-therapy-psychotherapy-counselling\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What is Mental Health, Anyway? The Myths You Need to Know - Harley Therapy\u2122 Blog","description":"What is mental health? It's not just about the way we think. Learn what mental health is, why it matters, and the myths you recognise about mental health.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"What is Mental Health, Anyway? The Myths You Need to Know","og_description":"What is mental health? It's not just about the way we think. Learn what mental health is, why it matters, and the myths you recognise about mental health.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-mental-health.htm","og_site_name":"Harley Therapy\u2122 Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/harleytherapy","article_published_time":"2018-12-27T11:00:50+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-11-29T12:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":500,"height":500,"url":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/35627767324_e8d4be6163.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Andrea M. Darcy","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/AndreaMDarcy","twitter_site":"@HarleyTherapy","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Andrea M. Darcy","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-mental-health.htm","url":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-mental-health.htm","name":"What is Mental Health, Anyway? The Myths You Need to Know - Harley Therapy\u2122 Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-mental-health.htm#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-mental-health.htm#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/35627767324_e8d4be6163.jpg","datePublished":"2018-12-27T11:00:50+00:00","dateModified":"2022-11-29T12:00:00+00:00","description":"What is mental health? It's not just about the way we think. Learn what mental health is, why it matters, and the myths you recognise about mental health.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-mental-health.htm#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-mental-health.htm"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-mental-health.htm#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/35627767324_e8d4be6163.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/35627767324_e8d4be6163.jpg","width":500,"height":500,"caption":"By: Free Images"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-mental-health.htm#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What is Mental Health, Anyway? The Myths You Need to Know"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/","name":"Harley Therapy\u2122 Blog","description":"Self-Help for Better Emotional Health","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/#organization","name":"Harley Therapy - Psychotherapy & Counselling","alternateName":"Harley Therapy","url":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/images\/logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/cropped-harleytherapypsychotherapycounsellinglogo.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Harley Therapy - Psychotherapy & Counselling"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/harleytherapy","https:\/\/x.com\/HarleyTherapy","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/harley-therapy","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/HarleyTherapyCoUk","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/harleytherapy\/","https:\/\/uk.trustpilot.com\/review.harleytherapy.co.uk","https:\/\/www.reviews.co.uk\/company-reviews\/store\/harleytherapy-co-uk","https:\/\/www.crunchbase.com\/organization\/harley-therapy-psychotherapy-counselling"]}]}},"modified_by":"Louise","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/35627767324_e8d4be6163.jpg",500,500,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/35627767324_e8d4be6163-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/35627767324_e8d4be6163-400x400.jpg",400,400,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/35627767324_e8d4be6163.jpg",500,500,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/35627767324_e8d4be6163-500x500.jpg",500,500,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/35627767324_e8d4be6163.jpg",500,500,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/35627767324_e8d4be6163.jpg",500,500,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/35627767324_e8d4be6163-200x200.jpg",200,200,true],"featured":["https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/35627767324_e8d4be6163-200x200.jpg",200,200,true],"related":["https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/35627767324_e8d4be6163-180x120.jpg",180,120,true],"widgetthumb":["https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/35627767324_e8d4be6163-50x50.jpg",50,50,true],"slider":["https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/35627767324_e8d4be6163-500x200.jpg",500,200,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Andrea M. Darcy","author_link":"#"},"uagb_comment_info":1,"uagb_excerpt":"Mental health is a buzzword lately. But what is mental health, exactly? And what misunderstandings about mental health do you need to watch out for? [Worried about your mental health and need to talk to someone, soon? Book one of our online therapists now and be talking as soon as tomorrow.] What is mental health?&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100739"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100739\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":137055,"href":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100739\/revisions\/137055"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}