Mental Health

Hello, as far as I am concerned your mental and physical health are indivisible so you are being very sensible in paying attention to both. I think we still have a long way to go before lip service to the issue becomes a socially expectable condition by the community at large. It's like all things that scare people in life, the need to convince themselves it only happens to others is probably at the root of the reaction you received. I get that when I tell people about my cancer, it's like I've got he plague and they think it's catching. Its still disappointing but speaks more about their insecurities than it does about me. When my hair fell out during chemotherapy I didn't give two hoots about what anyone thought and I am not ashamed be vulnerable or ask for help when I need it.

Hi Wedgegirl,

Thanks for raising such an important topic.

I suppose it is a bit odd when you think about it isn’t it? Are there any other illnesses where there is an unsaid thought that you should pull your socks up, get on with it, that you don’t have a “real” illness, etc? I can’t think of any other physical ailment (and I class a mental health problem as the same as a physical ailment) where that stigma would come into play. It reminds me that the biggest killer of men under 40 is suicide. So that to me seems like a “real” illness. Cancer is not going to get you, your mental illness is more likely to get you. So, if someone presents with a cancer problem, do we say, “oh, don’t worry, everyone gets cancer sometimes”, or “I had cancer once, I just had to get some fresh air, stop being negative and I was fine.” It seems really odd to me that we approach mental illness in that way.

I am convinced it is down to a lack of understanding. In 100 years time, I’m sure humans will understand the brain a lot better. It’s a bit like a lot of cancers a 100 years ago, someone would start feeling poorly and then they would die - now, we understand much more about how to fix those problems. There is also so much more awareness of physical health. The same will be true of mental health I’m sure but it will probably take time.

For now, all we can do is educate and encourage as much open-mindedness as possible. But I hope you can brush off your experience with ease - no-one should ever feel embarrassed for taking proactive action to look after their health.

All the best

Greg

Thanks for the comments, let’s hope by being open and honest we can drive the conversation forward so it becomes as natural as going to the gym..... not that you would ever find me in the gym