Mental health effects:

How we handle stress
How we relate to others
How we make choices

🔹 SECTION 1: UNDERSTANDING MENTAL HEALTH AND MENTAL ILLNESS

🧠 Mental Health

Everyone has mental health.

Mental health is:

How we think
How we feel
How we behave

It helps us:

Cope with life
Make decisions

👉 Mental health can go up and down over time

🧠 Mental Illness

Mental illness is a medical condition.

It affects:

Thinking
Feelings
Behaviour

Examples:

Depression
Anxiety
Bipolar disorder
PTSD
Schizophrenia

💡 Easy Read Summary

Mental health = everyone has it
Mental illness = a diagnosed condition

🔹 SECTION 2: SAME, SIMILAR AND DIFFERENT

🤝 Same / Similar

Mental health and mental illness both:

Affect thoughts, feelings, and behaviour
Affect daily life, work, and relationships
Are experienced by everyone in some way

🔄 Different

Mental health = a state of wellbeing
Mental illness = a diagnosed condition

💡 Example:
A person can have a mental illness but still have good mental health with support

🔹 SECTION 3: MENTAL HEALTH AS A CONTINUUM

Mental health is not fixed.
It changes over time.

🟢 Good Mental Health

Feeling calm
Sleeping well
Making positive choices

🔴 Poor Mental Health

Feeling stressed or overwhelmed
Struggling to cope
Poor sleep or appetite

💡 Everyone moves along this scale at different times

🔹 SECTION 4: MENTAL ILLNESS AND DAILY LIFE

Mental illness can affect:

😴 Sleep
💼 Work
💷 Money
❤️ Relationships

⚠️ Coping Behaviours (Sometimes Unhealthy)

Some people may cope by:

Using alcohol or drugs
Overeating or not eating
Avoiding people

🧠 Important Points

Mental illness can happen with or without a clear reason
It is not your fault
It can affect anyone

🔹 SECTION 5: MENTAL HEALTH AND FAMILY LIFE (EASY READ)

🧠 What We Experience

👀 What we see
👂 What we hear
❤️ What we feel

These all affect how we think and feel

🏠 At Home

Families can shape mental health.
We learn how to:

Think
Talk
Solve problems

🌱 Good Home Support

Being listened to
Feeling safe
Being loved

⚠️ Hard Home Situations

Arguments or shouting
Pressure to be perfect
Mental health problems in the family

💬 Key Message

It’s OK to ask for help
You are not alone

🔹 SECTION 6: EASY READ TOPIC – ANXIETY

🧠 What is Anxiety?

Anxiety is feeling:

Worried
Scared
Nervous

⚠️ When Anxiety Becomes a Problem

It is very strong
It happens often
It affects daily life

😰 Anxiety Symptoms

Body:

Fast heartbeat ❤️
Sweating
Shaking
Fast breathing

Mind:

Overthinking
Worrying a lot
Trouble concentrating

📄 EASY READ VERSION: WHAT MENTAL HEALTH IS AND IS NOT

💚 What Mental Health IS

Mental health means how we:

Feel 💭
Think 🧠
Act 💬
Get along with others 🤝

🌟 Mental Health IS:

✔ A state of well-being
✔ Something that changes
✔ More than not being ill
✔ Important for daily life
✔ Needed for brain function
✔ Affected by many things

❌ What Mental Health is NOT

🚫 Always being happy
🚫 The same as resilience
🚫 A fixed state

🧠 What Mental Illness IS

✔ A health condition
✔ A medical condition
✔ Not a weakness
✔ Different for everyone
✔ Treatable

❌ What Mental Illness is NOT

🚫 Just a bad day
🚫 Something to be ashamed of
🚫 A choice

📊 WHO IS AFFECTED BY MENTAL ILLNESS

🌍 Who Can Be Affected?