The Magnificant Mad? - Mental Health in Today's Society

Recently, BBC Three has been showing programmes as part of its mental health season titled "It's a Mad World". This title in itself has sparked controversy amongst critics, with people saying that it only adds to the dramatisation of mental health. However, the season as a whole has had many eye opening and thought provoking programmes, challenging people's views and stereotypes surrounding mental health.

1 in 4 of the UK population will suffer from a mental health condition at some point within their life time. Yet, is enough being done to prevent such issues and limit the impact they have on both their own, and other people's lives? Recent statistics state that more ex- soldiers die of suicide related to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) than the number of soldiers that actually die in battle. Personally, this made me feel sick to my stomach. Unfortinately, the attitude of just brushing it under the carpet has been around for so long meaning the help that is desperately needed does not reach these men and women in time.

I'm writing about this because I suffer from depression. The lows I experience can be so debilitating that a normal existence is simply impossible. I am a prisoner to my bedroom and trapped inside my own head. I refuse to be just another statistic, so I am determined to take a stand and better my life. People with mental illness are not incapable, dead weights in society. Far from it. Stephen Fry for example, he is exceptionally successful and mentally ill. Frank Bruno is another example. These are role models for all people who suffer every single day.

If a quarter of the population are going to be mentally ill at some point, do you not think it is time that we are given a chance? Mental health isn't something that should be shied away from. It is something to embrace, discuss and accept. Just like cancer and heart disease, we should be mindful and informed about the steps we can take the better our mind. The brain is a part of the human body just like the heart or the lungs. Therefore, should we not be looking after it just as we would them? And you wouldn’t say that someone couldn’t work for you just because they had a chest infection a few years ago, so why is it different if someone who once had a mental health issue recovers and wants a better life?

If you suffer from a mental health condition or you know someone that does and would like more support, please click on one of the following links:
http://www.mind.org.uk/
http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/

On Facebook, if you would like further support please join Supportive Mental Health Buddies which is a group of like-minded, mental health sufferers here to support you through your troubles. https://www.facebook.com/groups/169074613272851/

The Anatomy of Anxiety

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Changes to the DSM - Helpful or Labelling?

In May of this year (2013), a new version of the American mental health diagnostic bible, the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, is due to be published and with this a whole new meaning to the word controversy has arisen. In this 5th edition, there will be new recognised mental health conditions in addition to changes to the diagnostic definitions of other mental health issues, including Major Depressive Disorder.  

Many people argue that with the introduction of certain new mental health conditions, people will be labelled unnecessary. One of the least understood conditions, Generalised Anxiety Disorder, has been in the firing line with the criteria being relaxed to the point that everyday anxieties can class as a 'disorder'. Everyone has the odd worry and some people more so than other, but where does such a subjective feeling become something considered to be pathological? Another of the controversial changes concerns the diagnosis of depression. Under the old guidelines, an individual cannot be diagnosed with major depression if a serious life event, such as bereavement, has occurred that would explain such melancholic feelings. But now if you are seriously affected by the death of a loved one, it may be the case that you are 'depressed'.

With these new guidelines, many professionals and the public alike fear that the amount of people medicated for suffering from a mental health condition will dramatically rise. Even under the current guidelines, doctors are all too quick to prescribe drugs in many cases and waiting lists for popular therapies like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) are already choked to the max. While recognition for people who are suffering can only be a good thing, with an already stretched mental health service in the UK and US, these recommendations may do more harm than good.

 

For more information -

BBC News.

'Grief and anxiety are not mental illnesses' 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20986796