Let’s talk about Talking About Mental Health.
It seems more people are aware of the need to talk about mental health and are interested in the tools to do so. (However, is this translating into real life daily actions, embedded in a society where it is equally acceptable to talk about mental health and physical health? That’s another debate.)
But what do we actually mean by the words ‘mental health’? We need to know what we are having conversations about.
‘Mental health’ has loads of definitions. You probably suspected that.
It’s generally about your brain and how you are getting on/ feeling about life.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines mental health as 'a state of wellbeing in which the individual realises his or her abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community'.
Here's a few pointers that I’d add that might help (which are just from my brain so you are welcome to dispute them):
Mental health is not synonymous with mental illness.
A ‘mental health condition’ is something which may be medically recognised that affects your mood, thinking and behaviour. This may cause you to be classed as ‘disabled’. This can also be referred to as a ‘disorder’ but many feel that this has negative connotations.
Mental health can include positive mental wellbeing, or lack thereof. Everyone has mental wellbeing and that is something that can be proactively looked after.
The diverse way that brains work is encompassed in the term ‘neurodiversity’. Sometimes things like anxiety and schizophrenia are included in this definition, and sometimes they are not.
Does this matter?
Yup. Brains are complex things and having a short-hand to talk about them, i.e. ‘mental health’, can get confusing.
Of course talking is a big step forward; however, I think we have a distance to go.
Language is power and there can be loads of explanations for what is impacting your brain.
Let’s keep talking about how to talk about ‘mental health’.
(Keen to keep exploring this topic? There are loads of resources available from the Mental Health Foundation this World Mental Health Day: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/world-mental-health-day)
