Mental Health and Well-being – So? Who the Hell Cares?!!

“Finally”, we are thinking, “more and more awareness is being created in the media regarding mental health and/or mental well-being issues!”

The media reports suggest that NHS is cutting back on the funding in this area over other areas of health treatment.

The media reports tell us that this requires a hugely significant level of funding to deal with the issues.

The media reports tell us that treatment and welfare solutions are difficult to come by and terribly sparse across the country, either in rural or urban environments.

Aren’t we grateful that at least the right noises are being uttered with gestures forthcoming? Does that mean that they all suddenly care now? No….not at all!!

It’s all such a negative picture, with vast gloomy images and prohibitive outlooks. That’s in no way helpful for sufferers of poor mental health and depressed mental well-being. If the whole issue is labelled as a burden, how exactly does that help to remove the stigma and gain empathy? Yes, you are right – it neither raises empathy at all from others nor motivation from the sufferers.

Whichever way you care to perceive it or label it, those terms still carry a significant stigma and undercurrent of weakness or failure which means that such a serious illness all too often goes unremarked or unsupported. Sometimes with devastating effects, and then, it is those closest to you who feel the undercurrent of weakness or failure.

In fact we all care, do we not? There is not one of us who would turn our back on our family member, our friend, or our colleague if we honestly knew they were suffering. In fact, there are even the reports of complete strangers helping desperate souls, stopping to have a chat at the scene of an accident, sending money to replace a child's stolen bike or homewares for a family's flooded house.

Quite simply, those who are sufferers should take heart from that, and try to talk to someone of their choosing. It’s a given, a default with human nature, that the person you choose to talk to will care. It is highly likely that they will not be a mental health specialist, equipped to bring out a proverbial tool from a figurative toolbox to provide an instant solution - but who cares? - that is not what you need in the immediacy, and quite frankly could even be an added bonus!!

We all matter….and all that matters is when you are suffering, you feel encouraged with the desire to talk to that person closest to you. In turn, if you were that person closest to them, you would expect anyone suffering to talk to you, because you know about your own inner raw desire to listen and help.

We all care. We all matter. It does not have to be about impossible national budgets and inconvenient solutions. We are upset when retrospectively we ask: “Why didn’t they talk to me?” quite rhetorically. So why don’t we just provide support proactively?

Do it today, please, make a difference….choose someone to talk to or take the time to listen.