Something to be grateful for: mental health is less taboo than it used to be

[lior]

Today I was in a cafe and a lady in her 60s (or maybe early 70s) started chatting to me.

She referred to having a 'nervous breakdown' in the late 1970s. It occurred to me that people don't use that phrase very much any more. I asked her what counts as a nervous breakdown. She told me that she took an overdose.

I used the language of mental health that I know today - 'mental health', 'anxiety', 'depression', 'psychotherapy'. She used language such as 'sectioned', 'psychiatrist', 'nervous breakdown'. I said 'suicide' first.

She was quite open about talking about it directly, yet I could see that it might have been a longer struggle for her to be able to come to this point. My generation, I believe, have it a bit easier than previous generations, because mental health is much less taboo than it used to be, and our language has developed accordingly.

Even if you're not in my generation, things must be easier now than they were before. Right? The world has changed. All those campaigns in the media about mental health - they have made a difference. And mental health provision has got better, even though there's still a hell of a long way to go.

There's a lot to be afraid of in this world. But there's also a lot to be grateful for. Please stand with me in your gratitude. If we have to be anxious or depressed, now's the best time for it! Haha!

[pulisa]

I'd like to think this is the case but it certainly isn't for me and my daughter.

[lior]

I'd like to think this is the case but it certainly isn't for me and my daughter.

What do you mean? Have things got worse - in what way?

[MyNameIsTerry]

I think pulisa & her daughter still face an uphill battle as ASD is still not well understood, at least I don't think it is from listening to her and from what I know myself. The same can be said for other more complex disorders e.g. schizophrenia, bipolar, delusion, psychosis episodes, etc. I think the media often make it worse as they cherry pick the type of sufferer to fit sensationilist storylines and if we don't have enough educational programming too, assumptions get made.

That's why I didn't have a clue about OCD. It was rarely portrayed as anything other than hand washing, checking locks & cooker knobs or hoarding. It's diverse and new sufferers, especially the Pure O end, don't understand basics about these themes and assume the worse is happening. This can mean it is hard for them to seek help because they don't understand it is only OCD and also fear condemnation. The religious themes also bring different challenges.

But I do think that in general, it's getting out there. Not the more complex side maybe but certainly the GAD, SA, depression and a lot of the symptoms. HA is likely still looked at negatively, we can thank idiots like the media poking up the issue of the NHS costs without explaining it's more the doctors causing that than the patients!

I think it's great she could open up to you. When I sat in the walk-in groups we all struggled talking at first. To older generations it's less the done thing just as it isn't for other socal groups e.g. men or people from rougher backgrounds.

The more talk the better. I love your willingness to be open about your experiences.

[pulisa]

Unfair of me to respond, lior, because I'm dealing with specific issues for which it is still extremely difficult to get appropriate expert support.

I'm glad you feel positive about mental health support for your generation. It's as it should be. I come from the stiff upper lip brigade-things may have been different if I hadn't.

[Chick100]

Today I was in a cafe and a lady in her 60s (or maybe early 70s) started chatting to me.

She referred to having a 'nervous breakdown' in the late 1970s. It occurred to me that people don't use that phrase very much any more. I asked her what counts as a nervous breakdown. She told me that she took an overdose.

I used the language of mental health that I know today - 'mental health', 'anxiety', 'depression', 'psychotherapy'. She used language such as 'sectioned', 'psychiatrist', 'nervous breakdown'. I said 'suicide' first.

She was quite open about talking about it directly, yet I could see that it might have been a longer struggle for her to be able to come to this point. My generation, I believe, have it a bit easier than previous generations, because mental health is much less taboo than it used to be, and our language has developed accordingly.

Even if you're not in my generation, things must be easier now than they were before. Right? The world has changed. All those campaigns in the media about mental health - they have made a difference. And mental health provision has got better, even though there's still a hell of a long way to go.

There's a lot to be afraid of in this world. But there's also a lot to be grateful for. Please stand with me in your gratitude. If we have to be anxious or depressed, now's the best time for it! Haha!

Hi Lior.

I am in my early 60´s , but considered I had a "mental breakdown" in the 1980´s . However the 10 year difference between me and the lady´s experience couldn´t have been more different, and I learned very quickly that I wouldn´t be sectioned, or need to see a psychiatrist, or god forbid be given electric shock therapy like my older brother. I still felt as though I had to try and hide my problem though, but that could have been something related to shame, or imagining that people would think me a nut case and run a mile when they saw me. Probably all in my head, but it was a fear never the less.
In later years when having a touch of nerves! and possibly because mental health issues had become much less of a taboo subject, I decided not to try and hide my problems for fear of whatever, after all, you wouldn´t try and hide a cold or any other infirmity so why try and hide nerves.

I have to agree with you that mental health issues which are now NOT swept under the carpet is a great step forward, and that´s a really good thing.

[Lilliput]

Agree with lior that it's much easier to have a conversation about MH problems now.

I'm also early 60s and up to age 40 lived with a secret shame, terrified of being 'found out' and taken away to some grim institution and thinking I was the only person in the world like this.

My anxiety/panic has flared up badly lately but now I can explain to people why I can't join in with things at the moment, I know I'm not alone and I know there's help available.

Not relying on NHS, the help from there is patchy at best so there's a way to go in addressing the great need of people burdened with MH problems.

[au Lait]

I agree! It always amazes me how many people are coming forward on places like YouTube to share their mental health stories. It makes me feel less alone to know that there are so many people who are going through the same things as me. I can't imagine how lonely it must have been for previous generations who had to keep such things hidden.

[lior]

Thank you for all these messages. I'm glad I'm not the only one that's seeing this positive trend! It's wonderful to hear about these experiences of things getting better.

Pulisa and Terry - it makes sense that the culture change first affects the most visible and common problems, and then will eventually extend to the lesser known ones. I have hope for you yet. The change in the public's understanding of depression has most likely affected service provision positively. Now they're warmed up to understanding other mental health issues. So the next step after that will be service provision getting better. (My logic is that people in power do what the public want them to, to a certain extent, and also that those people in power ARE members of the public and are affected themselves by this culture change around mental health, which makes them make better decisions.)

It's going to get better. Maybe it's been horrible already and it's still awful now. But the future is brighter. And the next generations will be much more supported than we are. And we're going to be better supported in terms of mental health understanding as we age.

[KK77]

I definitely think it's positive that mental health has received the awareness and understanding it deserves. But whilst this is a large step forward it also feels like a step backwards in terms of funding, which, whether we like it or not, is so fundamental in supporting those in need.

Don't wish in any way to diminish the spirit of this thread but we have to face reality, too: we can't heal and support those in need with words alone.

[lior]

There's a difference between mental healthcare services and the public's understanding of mental health. We need both.

The public's understanding of mental health is progressing. Services will get better and worse with changes in government, in line with funding.

I reckon that the public changing its collective perception about things takes a really long time and it doesn't swing as fast as healthcare provision does. I'm confident that the trend is going to continue - over the coming decades, mental health will be increasingly understood.

It's possible that in a few years, things will change again with mental health services. To influence that, we can vote and we can also keep talking about mental health to help our friends and colleagues get with the programme.

[MyNameIsTerry]

I think awareness is changing largely due to the charities rather than public bodies. There are so many smaller charities starting up & branching out, networks coming together, ex sufferers training up to treat others, use of YouTube to give personal stories, etc that things have moved on quite quickly due to pushing it through technology.

Social media has influenced a lot of things in the last 10 years and with it being so popular to newer generations they will be exposed much earlier so that they are more accepting as they see it around them more.

[KK77]

There's a difference between mental healthcare services and the public's understanding of mental health. We need both.




Two sides of the same coin. Without treatment and proper professional care the awareness and understanding rings hollow.

Let's hope for change.