There are many contributing factors to consider when it comes to health problems and how they arise. There is not a one size fits all approach and many people will experience a variety of minor mental health symptoms or issues throughout their lives such as feeling low, sad or experiencing stress or grief etc. There are other mental health issues that can cause symptoms to persist and can therefore affect an individual on a deeper longer lasting level. Some common underlying causes that have been shown to have an effect on mental health and wellbeing are:

1. Changes in circumstance - changes in lifestyle, family, jobs, childbirth, divorce, grief, financial loss, or changes in any other important circumstances can have a great impact on our ability to cope with life.
2. Slow increase in pressure - Job roles can change overtime as can home life responsibilities. When pressure and stress increases over time, it can creates triggers that can cause mental health issues to arise. Long term stress can have a detrimental affect on the mind, especially if the individual hasn't had the time to break away from consistent pressure or if they haven't had the time to reduce their stress. Mental illness can then often form as a result.
3. Family lineage - For many sufferers of mental illness, a genetic link is the underlying cause. Genetically inherited conditions can be unpreventable and leave individuals predisposed to illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia or bi-polar disorder. There is the possibility that other issues could also be genetically inherited, such as social anxiety.
4. Self-perception -  Our self-perception can have an enormous effect on our mind and changes that occur in our self-perception throughout our lives often determine how we think at any particular moment. If our self-perception is low, we might experience issues such as anxiety, fear, low self-esteem or low self-confidence. Poor self perception can also create life long issues such as body dysmorphia or complex physical health issues such as the eating disorders bulimia and anorexia.
5. Not enough time for wellbeing - When the mind can't wind down or break free from continuous stress or pressure created by mental/or physical anguish, then mental health issues often occur. Mental health issues that arise from mental strain and overwork can include depression, insomnia, anxiety, OCD and stress. When stress accumulates it can affect physical health as well as mental health, causing headaches or facial ticks, weight fluctuations, bodily pain, hypertension and heart problems.
6. Childhood - Mental health issues can sometimes form at a very early age due to exposure to certain external factors. Experiences that cause trauma can have a deep influence on the psyche of the young person. Childhood trauma and exposure to disturbing situations can leave the child prone to various personality disorders or mental illnesses, as they grow older, anxiety and depression in particular.
7. Economic/world pressures - Stress and mental health issues can also be caused by varying environmental and economic factors, such as economic problems in your country of residence, problems caused by extreme weather, poor healthcare provisions etc. Some countries experience problems such as poverty, drought, flood, disease, war, low income, hurricanes, tsunami's, tornado's and earthquakes etc. This all adds to pressure and stress. For inhabitants of countries plagued by any of these issues, stress and mental health pressure can be a regular occurrence.
8. Social situations - Isolation and loneliness, social anxiety, discrimination or prejudice, whatever the social experience may be, social conditions can be a major contributing factor when it comes to mental health stability. The recent 2019 coronavirus pandemic demonstrated that isolation and lack of interaction were huge contributing factors when it came to rising levels of mental health issues across the world during that period.
9. Physical illness and disability - The constant awareness of pain, problems or the resulting stress that physical illness, injury or disability can cause increases the potential for mental health issues to arise, particularly anxiety and depression. When an individual suffers from a physical illness or disability that causes them to be reliant on others for assistance, then the inability to be independent can also cause mental health issues to develop.
10. Learned behaviours - We learn from others throughout our lives, however, if from an early age we develop a poor understanding of how to interact with others, or how to empathise or compromise for example, issues can occur in the mind and prevention assistance is often required to help the individual learn how to change and adapt, in attempt to prevent them from becoming unstable, disengaged or dysfunctional in society.