Mental health literacy 101: Is it okay to be not okay?

In this blog, Summer School 2024 attendee Kathleen Rachel explores the importance of mental health literacy, breaking down what it means to understand and manage our mental wellbeing.

Drawing from her experiences growing up in Indonesia, where mental health was rarely discussed, Kathleen uses the Mental Health Literacy Pyramid to explain the differences between stress, mental health challenges, and disorders.

With a focus on breaking stigma and fostering awareness, this blog serves as a guide to embracing and supporting mental health in everyday life.

Mental health conversations in Indonesia

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the phrase “It’s okay to be not okay” has gained significant traction, partly due to the hit Korean drama of the same name. Coming from Indonesia, where media representation of mental health issues has been sparse, this TV series became a cultural touchpoint during lockdown, sparking much-needed conversations about mental health. But what does it truly mean to embrace being ‘not okay’? If it’s acceptable to experience difficult emotions, why do mental disorders exist? And are there instances of being ‘not okay’ that truly require immediate attention?

While awareness of mental health has grown, it’s not always easy to distinguish between everyday stresses and more serious mental health issues. Are we equipped to understand mental health? Is being mentally healthy synonymous with being happy or free of stress? This blog aims to explore these questions and provide insights into the importance of mental health literacy.

Mental health in teenagers

Being a teenager isn’t easy! Adolescence comes with significant changes—physical, mental, and social—and these can heavily influence mental health. Mental health encompasses how we feel, think, and connect with others. Good mental health doesn’t mean being perpetually happy or stress-free; rather, it’s about managing stress, realising your potential, and maintaining meaningful relationships.

For instance, feeling sad after failing a test? That’s normal. But how can we tell the difference between everyday stress and a mental health disorder? This is where Mental Health Literacy becomes essential.

The concept of Mental Health Literacy, introduced by Anthony F. Jorm in 2000, is about understanding, managing, and preventing mental health challenges. Kutcher, Wei, and Coniglio (2016) later expanded it into four key components:

1. Maintaining mental health
2. Recognizing and addressing mental disorders
3. Breaking the stigma surrounding mental health
4. Seeking help when needed

This blog focuses on the first step: understanding your mental health states and why mental health literacy is crucial.

Understanding mental health states: the Mental Health Literacy Pyramid

To build mental health literacy, we can start by identifying our mental health states and using appropriate language to describe our emotions, thoughts, and behaviours. The Inter-Relationship of Mental Health Literacy Pyramid helps us understand these states:

Figure 1. The Inter-Relationship of Mental Health States Pyramid

Source: www.mentalhealthliteracy.org

1. No distress, no problem, no disorder: This is when life feels balanced. Your content, productive, and enjoying everyday moments.
2. Mental distress: Temporary stress caused by daily challenges—like pre-test anxiety or an argument with a friend. While unpleasant, these stresses help us grow and build resilience.
3. Mental health problems: More intense than everyday stress, these challenges can stem from significant life events such as losing a loved one or a job. In such situations, it’s important to seek support from trusted individuals.
4. Mental disorders: This involves clinically significant disruptions in cognition, emotion, or behaviour, often requiring professional diagnosis and intervention. Mental disorders arise from a combination of genetic, environmental, and social factors.

Understanding these states helps us navigate our mental health and communicate effectively about it. Remember, good mental health is about embracing a range of emotions and learning how to manage them.

Breaking the stigma

In Indonesia, mental health conversations were once rare and often stigmatised. My perspective shifted when I became a psychology student and realised how vital these discussions are. Stigma—a mix of prejudice and discrimination—remains a global barrier to mental health care. It can prevent people from seeking help, damage relationships, and perpetuate misconceptions, such as the belief that people with mental disorders are dangerous or weak.

This stigma effects everyone, including adolescents, who may face bullying or social exclusion due to their mental health struggles. Studies show that 80% of youth with mental disorders don’t access the care they need (Merikangas et al., 2010). Building mental health literacy is one way to combat stigma and create a more inclusive and supportive environment.

Wrapping up: the importance of mental health literacy

Mental health literacy encompasses knowing how to maintain mental health, recognising and addressing mental disorders, breaking stigma, and seeking help when needed. By understanding mental health states and their dynamics, we normalise seeking help and foster a compassionate society.

Mental health literacy is not just about self-awareness; it’s about empowering communities to support one another, reducing stigma, and improving overall wellbeing.

Together, let’s continue raising awareness and promoting mental health literacy to build a brighter, healthier future.

Author bio:

Kathleen is a researcher who graduated with a degree in macro-psychology studies. She is invested in the advancement of holistic mental health promotion in Indonesia, especially in cultural mental health promotion, prevention, and treatment through independent writing and collaborative research projects. Kathleen attended the Wolfson Centre Summer School in Youth Mental Health Research in 2024.Her recent projects covered the evaluation of Indonesian community gatekeepers’ mental health model, evaluating task-shifting as an emic mental health promotion, and authoring the adolescents’ mental health literacy module.Kathleen works with the belief of ‘Mens Sana in Corpore Sano’ which means a healthy mind in a healthy body. The phrase implies that all of us deserve to have a healthy mind in a healthy body.

Thank you so much Kathleen for writing this blog.