Terms are often used interchangeably, which can be confusing as well as inaccurate. It is therefore useful to attempt to define the vocabulary of mental health and to make distinctions.
Specific countries use different terminology to refer to the same issue.
In the five situation analyses of mental health in the workplace, the reports have remained faithful to the terminology used by the mental health community in each country. This glossary therefore includes definitions of these nation- specific terms. The following definitions and terminology are based on current usage by such organizations as the WHO and ILO, participating countries in the situational analyses, and the European Union. This glossary is conceptually oriented and will give the reader the familiarity with the vocabulary of mental health, which is necessary to fully understand the situation analyses. Though many elements of mental health may be identifiable, the term is not easy to define.