Promoting mental health is about improving the mental health and wellbeing for all people, regardless of whether they have experienced a mental illness. Mental health promotion seeks to optimise all people's mental health through (1):

• making sure that public policies support the mental health and wellbeing of individuals, families and community groups

• developing supportive environments (social, physical, economic and cultural) that are good for us

• empowering communities to take actions that meet the needs of community members 

• strengthening individuals by developing their skills to understand, enhance and respond to their own mental health needs 

• ensuring that all health services, including mental health services, promote mental health and wellbeing, as well as treat illness

At each level, interventions may focus on strengthening factors known to protect mental health (eg. Social support) or to reduce factors known to increase risk (eg. Unemployment, violence)(2). What's important to realise is that mental health is everyone's business and we can all do something to promote mental wellbeing.