Mental Health Commission
Mental health is a key component of health and wellbeing and underpins our abilities to make decisions, build relationships and shape the world we live in.
A person’s mental wellbeing reflects their psychological, emotional, physical and social state. Mental wellbeing refers to a person’s ability to maintain connections and cope with the normal stressors of life events.
There are a range of factors in life that can have an impact on a person’s mental wellbeing. Everyone is different and we all live in varying circumstances. These factors can either pose a risk to, or protect a person’s mental wellbeing. Risk and protective factors can also change throughout a person’s lifespan.
Some of the ways you can look after your mental health and wellbeing include:
- being physically active
- eating a range of nutritious foods
- spending time with family, friends and loved ones
- participating in hobbies and community events.
Regardless of whether or not you have a diagnosed mental health condition, it is normal to have ups and downs, times when you feel great and times when things aren’t going so well.
If you are experiencing ongoing challenges in the way you are feeling, thinking and behaving, it is worth considering getting help.
If you are concerned about a friend or someone close to you, simply talking and listening can make a difference. You can support the people you care about, to seek help.
Mental health conditions
A mental health condition is a disorder diagnosed by a medical professional that interferes with a person’s cognitive, emotional or social abilities. There are many different types of mental health conditions that occur to varying degrees of severity.
Examples of mental health conditions include:
Everyone experiences anxiety at some time in their life. Anxiety is felt as worry, nervousness or apprehension, usually in response to a stressful event or situation such as exams, problems in relationships or work pressures. When the stressful situation or event ends, usually so does the anxiety.
For others, anxiety is more intense than just feeling worried or stressed. It is something experienced on an ongoing basis, can significantly interfere with a person’s life and is not easily controlled.
Depression is not just having a bad day. Depression refers to a range of moods and symptoms that are longer lasting, more intense and distressing, and can affect everyday life and relationships.
Depression can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender or social status. It is not a sign of weakness and any of us can experience depression at any stage in our lives.
Eating disorders cover a range of problems related to food, eating and body image. When these problems are interfering with day-to-day quality of life, they are considered to be a mental health condition.
There are different types of eating disorders and many different types of eating behaviours, such as restricting food, overeating, purging, or over-exercising.
Everyone has mood changes, but for people who experience bipolar disorder these ups and downs in mood are more extreme. Bipolar is characterised by cycles of extreme low mood (depressive episodes) and high moods (manic or hypomanic episodes).
A personality disorder is characterised by behaviour and thinking that is different to the culture a person lives in. People with personality disorder are often distressed, find it hard to control their own behaviour, are inflexible, and have difficulty with relationships and coping with everyday life.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that can occur following exposure to a frightening and traumatic event such as war, a natural disaster, a major car crash, a severe physical injury, an assault, seeing a murder or violence.
Schizophrenia is a condition that affects the normal functioning of the brain, which results in a person having an altered experience of reality. It affects a person’s thoughts, perceptions, emotions and behaviour and interferes with their ability to function at work, school or relate to other people.
It is important to acknowledge a person’s mental wellbeing and the presence of a mental health condition are two distinct but related experiences. Everyone experiences their own level of mental wellbeing, regardless of whether or not they have a diagnosed mental health condition.
When natural disasters and emergencies happen, it can be a challenging time. During and after a natural disaster, it’s normal to feel overwhelmed, unsettled and disrupted.
Mental health, alcohol and other drug (AOD) services across Western Australia are 'on the ground’ working to support communities every day. During a disaster they work hard to keep these services available.
At a state level, the Mental Health Commission works with other agencies through the State Recovery Coordination Group, on behalf of the mental health and AOD sector.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services provides advice on how to look after your wellbeing when recovering from a natural disaster or emergency.
See the links below for more information:
Page last updated2 May 2025
