The Problem: Rising rates of mental health conditions The Opportunity: To capitalise on the current focus on mental wellbeing The Solution: An umbrella mental health organisation raising awareness and collating resources, information and services. Although mental health is better understood than ever and has become part of the conversation on morning TV and offices across the nation, mental health disorders are still widely misunderstood and the accessibility of support is not without fault. What is needed is a wide-reaching campaign to streamline service and resources, and to further raise awareness and educate people. The intention would be to help people look after their mental health and improve the efficacy of self-help resources with the goal of reducing the number of people reaching a crisis point. Preventive measures and early interventions can enable individuals to overcome or live with mental health disorders, and for the more severe cases, a deeper understanding of their symptoms can also promote self-referral and aid recovery. Awareness raising A lack of understanding about what mental health is can not only exacerbate symptoms and delay a person seeking help, it can add to a wider issue of social shame. Many people struggle to talk about the mental health conditions for fear of appearing weak or being misunderstood by their friends or family. Fear of being judged, mocked or told to “just get over it” inhibits people’s ability to speak openly about mental illness and can compound the impact of existing conditions. The ultimate aim should be a society where depression can be talked about as openly as one might discuss diabetes and a panic attack spoken of akin to breaking a bone. Mental health is less visible and a deeply personal experience meaning it is not usually spoken of as clinically as conditions like those mentioned. However, mental health disorders need to be spoken about on a par with physical illness to remove the associated stigma and to enable people to prioritise their mental health and seek help when needed. There are numerous mental health charities doing an amazing amount of good, providing resources and therapy, as well as raising awareness. However, it would seem a concerted nationwide effort is needed to keep the conversation relevant and maintain momentum following the current pandemic. Sharing experiences can not only provide insight into what it is like to live with a mental health disorder, but they can help normalise mental health conditions and be a comforting reminder that one is not struggling alone. It is easy for individual’s to become isolated as they withdraw from others as they battle with mental health difficulties, and stories from those who have recovered or are living with mental health disorders can provide both comfort and encouragement. As part of an awareness raising campaign, the sharing of individual experience would be a central focus, to open the door for more people to share, normalising mental health disorders. Resource Collation and Signposting From Mind to the Good Samaritans, from CBT guides to mindfulness tutorials, there is an abundance of information and self-help resources available online. Whilst this is a fantastic sign of how far mental health support has advanced in recent years, it can be hard to know where to begin when there is such a robust and diverse range of materials to hand. Furthermore, without a foundational understanding of mental health, it is hard to identify the most relevant information. A central focal point for resources, which signposts specific resources, would help individuals to navigate the information. The NHS provides an excellent amount of information and would provide a natural starting point for a more expansive, interconnected network of information and services. By building out a clear map of materials, individuals would be led to the correct resources, and steered away from misleading or ineffective information. The creation of a single pool of information would be supported by the awareness raising efforts as it would provide a single location to which people can be directed. Furthermore, as people’s understanding of mental health increases, they will be better able to locate and utlise the available resources as prevention tools promoting a higher level of mental wellbeing more generally. Summary Through a combination of raising awareness to increase understanding, sharing experiences to normalise mental health disorders and streamlining resources to improve access to self-help materials and treatment, mental health can hopefully remain in the spotlight following the pandemic, and become a standard focus for any health and wellbeing initiatives. By bringing mental health to the forefront, many people will be empowered to seek help, and be encouraged knowing that they are not alone, and that recovery is possible.
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