[Crimson Dynamo]

An interesting letter in the paper today from Denmark - what do you make of it?

SIR – What exactly does “mental health” mean? I see a mother slap her little
son in the street, and I get angry. I see an old man stumble on the
pavement, and I feel sorry for him. My boss bawls at me for being late, even
though she is late every day, and I resent her hypocrisy. My son falls sick,
and I worry.

All of these reflect a healthy mental state. So, what’s the opposite? When do
I need to look after my so-called mental health?

Perhaps happiness and unhappiness have been appropriated by psychologists
as indicators of mental health. The unhappy mind is sick, the happy mind is
healthy. Anger, grief, remorse and frustration are no longer states that
naturally arise in the healthy mind in response to the manifold phenomena of
human life, to be accepted and endured. They are instances of mental
sickness.

If this is the case, “mental health” is an empty phrase. It sounds good but is
phoney. Like saying that something difficult is not difficult but challenging.

Smiley Fogg
Copenhagen, Denmark

[Niamh.]

Obviously the examples given are normal reactions to situations in life. i would say prolonged instances of these emotions would be when you need to seek some help?

[user104658]

Who wrote this? Because in the mental health profession there is a very clear and well understood distinction between a mental health problem, and a normal psychological response to an acute life event (e.g. death, divorce, financial destitution).

If the author thinks that mental health professionals think that any negative emotion = mental health problems ... they simply have the wrong end of the stick.

Now I would say, GP's have a bit of a habit of over-prescribing things like antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications at inappropriate times. Someone whose partner has died a month previously does not need medication. Someone whose partner died 2 years ago and they are still not functioning day to day, might.

Someone who has just been fired and is in a panic about paying the mortgage doesn't need anti-anxiety meds. Someone who wakes up every day with obsessive negative thoughts despite there being no actual adverse event currently happening might.

Here's the important part to remember though; GPS are NOT mental health professionals. I personally have major reservations about GPS being able to hand out SSRI or benzo prescriptions to people who have not been assessed by a mental health team.

The distinction is all built into proper mental health assessment so that's not where the confusion lies.

Another important note is that "mental health awareness" for example in the workplace is not about thinking that anyone who is stressed or under pressure and struggling suddenly HAS mental health problems. It's about an awareness that a refusal to find ways to ease that pressure when people first mention that it's becoming unmanageable can eventually lead TO a more chronic health problem in the long run.

[Jessica.]

I have everything going for me, I am not sad and I shouldn't be sad, but I am depressed. Sad does not mean depressed and if you think that then you will never understand. Depression is being unable to face the day, not having motivation or drive, not taking care of yourself because no matter how much you want to there's something pulling you back. You go out and have a good day with the people you love and cry yourself to sleep that night without knowing why you're struggling. That is only one thing I am diagnosed with, there are two other conditions and they all work in tandem with each other to make things even harder. I'd give anything for happiness to just be the cure.