Photo by Jack Lucas Smith
There’s a mental health crisis in the UK.
A recent study from Sapien Labs revealed the UK is the world’s second-most miserable country. While we could chock it up to the weather, it might be good to have a deeper look at what some experts say.
“If a society is to be judged on how it treats its most vulnerable, the UK faces some uncomfortable home-truths,” the Lancet reported in early February.
As we discover more and more about ‘mental health’ and stigmas break down, an awareness grows that we’ve got a long way to go as a society to accept and help people that are struggling.
Community Mental Health nurse, Samuel, 52, who’s asked to remain anonymous per NHS policy, says there is a “relatively good” mental health service in London. “But that’s for severe and enduring mental health, so people who have psychosis and suicidal attempts, people who are really paranoid and delusional,” he says.
“People who are at risk to others or themselves, and a lot of them are really vulnerable.”
While we’ve got surgeons and specialists for grave diseases and physical symptoms, and GPs to take care of medium-sized issues, there seems to be a lack of services for everyday people struggling with mental health.
Mind mental health charity reports that one in four people will experience a mental health problem of some kind each year in England, while one in six report experiencing a common mental health problem (like anxiety and depression) in any given week in England.
With the stigmas still existing and the propensity for mental health problems to expand when untreated, it leaves us as a society in a dangerous position.
The health of our emotional body, neurology, and nervous system is just as important to tend to as our physical health. Books like The Body Keeps the Score show us that the mind is directly connected to the body, and sometimes symptoms show up under or on our skin.
When you cut your finger, you wash it and put on a plaster. We know to ice a bruise when it appears or an ankle when it’s swollen. But how do we treat mental and emotional difficulties when getting a diagnosis is difficult, waiting lists are long, and the stigma attached to them is off-putting?
Stefani M., 26, final year university student and full-time mother, is an active participant in university life. “Imagine the regular life of a student; constant assignments, struggles with life, pay bills, find a job – it’s unbearable to be honest.” It’s even harder for international students, who don’t have the familial support of a home nearby to refuge in.
“I’ve felt shy to ask for support, because you think there is something wrong with you,” she says.
In another survey conducted by Mind, it was found that two out of three young people said that they had experienced stigma and discrimination when reaching out for or receiving support for their mental health, while 23% (more than one in five) who had experienced trauma felt their problems weren’t serious enough to reach out for professional help.
Stefani went on to say that she’s never accessed any service, at university or otherwise, because it’s not very accessible. “Mental health doesn’t appear in the public sphere, people wait until it’s too late to ask for help, so I do think the support needs to be normalised and opportunities for help made more available for the people who struggle, and that mental health is important for consideration,” she says.
There are services available, it’s just about knowing how to access them. So maybe the question is, how can services promote themselves or be better promoted to reach those most at risk of spiralling?
Here's some resources for anyone who needs it:
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