Is The UK Prepared For A Mental Health Crisis?

Whatever your thoughts about the Government’s rescue mission of the country and economy, it will take time for us to transition and begin our adjustment to a new normal, a new way of life.

Hovering around those concerns, though, is this horrifying question: Is the UK prepared for a mental health crisis? As someone who works in the field, I think not.

There is no doubt the heroic Key Workers on the frontline throughout the COVID-19 crisis have been working under immense pressure in stressful situations, witnessing emotional scenes, all while working long hours in uncomfortable PPE (if they’re lucky), not knowing whether they will be putting their own loved ones at risk on returning home.

Just as heroic are those Key Workers behind the scenes, as part of the rear echelon, keeping food distribution flowing for local food stores to open. Let’s not forget our local posties, the delivery drivers, carers, other support staff and thousands of volunteers. They also experience the stress of leaving the safety of their own homes to work, concerned they could catch COVID-19 and take it back to their loved ones.

We – the population – are also experiencing stress, anxiety, fear and uncertainty over finances, employment, housing, family, relationships and the future. Not to mention our wellbeing, both physical and mental. Even those with the toughest resolve and resilience are being tested with many of our coping mechanisms taken from us by the virus, like socialising, the gym, sporting events … even dating!

When we finally emerge into the light, what then?

Maybe we will realise that those 28 million adults who struggle with Chronic Pain every day, and those eight million individuals with Arthritis, have had their pain levels compounded further because of stress, anxiety, uncertainty, isolation and loneliness. They have had support services cancelled on them, unable to attend medical appointments which assist with managing their illnesses. This will most likely lead to their having increased poor mental health, increased levels of Depression or even a diagnosable mental illness.

Maybe we will realise, all those waiting for operations, with terminal illnesses or who need Outpatient appointments for treatments like physiotherapy, and the over nine million lonely and isolated adults, now have increased levels of poor mental health. We have already seen urgent Cancer referrals down by 60% and so it’s highly likely, they too have increased levels of poor mental health or a diagnosable mental illness.

Maybe we will finally realise, life will not be going ‘back to normal’. This global crisis has changed things for many years to come. The UK will feel the impact for years to come, with our being in a recession, unemployment due to reach an all time high and this is even without another spike.

And what about you, what are YOU going to do?

When we finally emerge into the light, the more specific, relevant and important question, aimed directly at you whilst reading this, is: Can YOU deal with a mental health crisis?

Prior to COVID-19, the mental health system struggled to keep up with the ever-growing number of patients. With increasingly longer waiting times, even Veterans, who are normally provided expedited appointments, were having to wait up to a year or more before being seen. In the aftermath of this global crisis, as its wider impact becomes clearer, the sheer number of people seeking support through our fragile mental health system will simply overwhelm an already overstretched, battered and war-torn NHS.

Asking for support

There are many support organisations available now, all providing invaluable services in some form or other. And rightly so – you can never have enough variety when it comes to providing mental wellbeing support. Everyone is unique, so mental health care should also be individual – what can work for Miss Jones might not work for Mr Smith.

The ability to connect with our diverse modern-day multi-cultural population has never been more challenging. BUT, the larger problem which faces employers, charities and social enterprises trying to provide support … is us people! Until we begin to accept responsibility and take ownership of both our physical AND mental wellbeing, then all we will see is crisis interventions.

Through educating yourself, gaining a general awareness of mental health and being empowered to better manage your own mental wellbeing, including implementing specific tools, techniques and coping strategies which work for you as an individual – you CAN finally change the narrative.

You can change your mindset, learn to manage any stressors and begin to live your life, enjoy it to the fullest rather than simply existing and help to improve the lives of loved ones and those around you, your actions CAN make others happier too!

Take back control

Wouldn’t you prefer to take back an element of control over your own wellbeing?

Don’t watch everything you’ve built up in your life crumble slowly in front of your eyes. Don’t allow your relationships you have vested years in, loved and nurtured, cruelly unpick at the seams; or witness the one you love slowly fade, withdraw into themselves and become a shadow of the person they once were.

Why would you not want to prevent, or at least reduce the risk, of any of this happening? If you don’t, you could find yourself reliant on a stranger to provide you with the tools required to painfully, slowly, reinvent yourself from the foundations up, forging a new life, new relationships, knowing that you could never ‘go back’ to who you were or how things were. That would take far longer than trying to take control of what you can … now!

Struggling NHS workers

The other concern that must be addressed is the mental health workers within the NHS. They are struggling to keep up with demand while facing similar anxieties, fears and uncertainties. Despite their profession, they may not be totally resilient to these particularly difficult times.

I’ve worked in the mental health field for ten years and completed several courses. Qualified in various areas of mental health, I have lived experience of Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD), Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Depression. Regardless of how much training you have, the number of tools, techniques and coping strategies you learn to better manage your own mental wellbeing doesn’t always prevent you from ever having low days or succumbing to the demons of darkness occasionally.

If the NHS and the Government, doesn’t begin to offer greater support to ALL its staff, empower them to better manage their own mental wellbeing and continues to push the mental health professionals too hard,And what what happens then? Who is there for them, who cares for the carers?

There are two actions that the Government can take immediately. But they need to act now.

1.      They should run a large-scale marketing campaign highlighting the importance of individuals accepting responsibility and taking ownership of their own mental wellbeing. Introducing people to self-management and the variety of things that they can achieve themselves, with minimal if any cost, will empower us to better manage our own wellbeing.

2.      They should seek to work with therapists and counsellors in the private sector, requesting that they bolster the ranks within the NHS. This will help to spread the load, reducing the pressure on current mental health workers and reducing the long waiting times that so many people, especially the vulnerable, experience. This would also ensure that there is pastoral care in place for everyone assisting with this.

We have seen what the Government can and will do when there is a crisis on a global scale. We are now on the verge of facing another. The US is already beginning to see the impact with a sharp rise in the number of people reaching out for crisis interventions.

We must not wait until there’s a sharp increase in suicides before the Government decides to act, before YOU decide to act. It’s time to take this seriously. We simply cannot afford to ignore this for the future of our children and our country, both from a humanist, caring perspective creating mentally well-balanced and functioning people, and from the viewpoint of our economy.

The time to act is now.

By Nick Wilson, Veteran, Podcaster and Speaker - www.talkmentalhealth.org.uk

Should you have been impacted by anything within this article or feel the need to speak with someone, please DO reach out to the Samaritans on 116 123 OR text SHOUT to 85258