The phrase 'we all have mental health' is confusing.
People often say, we all have 'mental health, just like we have physical health and so we need to look after it' .
The problem I have with this is that nobody says 'we all have physical health'. Ever.
And IF we talk about physical health, we do not proceed to talk about all the potential ailments related to poor physical health; diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease etc. Actually, the conversation generally tends to focus on good nutrition, exercise, what types of exercise, physical activity, sleep etc. so why can't we focus on the solutions to mental health in the same way?
I understand the intention of the 'we all have mental health' statement is to start to open conversations around mental health, to try to reassure those experiencing difficult that they are not alone but we need to be particularly careful with the language because the impact it has may have a different result.
It is Mental Health Awareness week in the UK next week and you will hear this phrase countless times. You will also see the 1 in 4 people has a common mental health difficulty at any one time statistic and then a list of your 'choices': depression, anxiety, bipolar, psychosis and personality disorders and more.
We all have mental health - so which one best summarises your experience?
I am particularly mindful of the impact this type of messaging has on the younger generation and believe that it could be the cause of the epidemic of mental health within young people today. Growing up in society is confusing enough without a whole bunch of mixed messages about mental health coming too.
So what is the solution?
Talk about love, about joy, about connection.
Talk about happiness, about freedom, creativity and expression.
Talk about getting lost in the moment with our friends, with family, getting lost in a book, in a film, in a sport, freewheeling down a hill with the breeze in your cheeks or in the woods.
Talk about being grateful for every moment we get to share with each other and grateful for the moments when we miss each other too.
These are the true safeguards of our mental health.
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3 年Very interesting article, thanks for sharing!
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3 年I just posted something similar as a comment on another post. We all have ups and downs and we all have mental health. I have lived experience of being on the other side as I put it, many years ago now and I think the way this is spoken about needs to change. There's so many people commenting on it and suddenly being an authority on it and yet it still seems a bit like them and us. There is still a great deal of stigma around mental health and a great deal of discomfort, despite all the ads about talking, etc. This doesn't happen with cancer or anything similar. That's somehow acceptable. Too much thinking that only certain people can 'get it', like a virus and yet everyone is susceptible, to one degree or another. Interesting post, one that provokes more questioning.
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3 年Well said, Henri!