5. Health is holistic and lasagne is layered
When people ask me why I joined the Zinc Academy, I get really annoyed and start ranting about high and mighty influencers posting #mentalhealth posts which are inaccurate and misleading without any real understanding of the repercussions. Honestly, if I see one more tokenistic crying selfie! Sorry, I’m doing it again…However, having had more time to chew on this I realise that my frustration at these posts is not entirely fair. The language we all use around mental health is ambiguous and emotionally-charged. Mental health, mental health illness (does that even make sense), mental distress, mental health problems. Where do we start?
On one hand we all have mental health and it is never linear. We will all respond to events in our personal lives and find ourselves inching closer towards the yay or nay spectrum of wellbeing at different times in our lives. On the other hand, there are individuals surviving very severe, debilitating mental illnesses. It’s not just feeling a bit gloomy, it could be devastating paranoia, sleepless rumination, or starvation. When you’re talking about mental health are you talking about wellness, thriving and living a purposeful life, or are you raising awareness of illness in desperate need of shorter waiting times, unconstrained referrals and improved treatment options?
4 February 2021 was World Cancer day. Imagine if everyone who has never had a diagnosis of cancer started posting about all the things they did to stay cancer-free. That would be totally absurd, not to mention unacceptable! It suggests that you have the power to pick the cards you are dealt with and even if you’re not a Poker player, I think we all know that is not the case. Yes, you might be able to give the dealer a cheeky wink whilst you sip your organic spinach smoothie, tell a hilarious joke from your mindfulness journal or give him a flirty fitness-honed kick in the shin under the table. But ultimately, no matter what you do to improve your chances, you’ll get the cards you’re dealt. By suggesting we have control of these things paints a stigmatising shadow on those who are suffering. Like they’re not being grateful enough, thinking positively or nourishing their bodies appropriately. So, you can understand why we’ve found ourselves in this literary pickle and communication chaos when it comes to mental health and mental health awareness. Mental health is saturated in nuance. It’s real and individual. Complicated and colourful with plenty of grey areas. No wonder we’re all confused at what we’re talking about.
It’s led me to question why we call it mental health at all. What value does that add? After all, mental and physical health are inextricably linked. Like that best friend you made in the smoking area that time — who knew you would have so much in common! Personally, I don’t see how a broken finger is any more closely related to our physical selves than the stomach cramps I get when I’m highly strung and anxious, standing on my head juggling multiple projects on one foot, cooking dinner with the other and trying to book my next manicure with my elbow. Last time I checked, I can’t wake up and decide to leave my brain at home when it’s not feeling well. Health is health. It’s holistic.
46% of people with a mental health problem in the UK also have a long-term physical health condition and 30% of people with a long-term physical health condition also have a mental health problem. If you’re wondering, that’s almost 10 million people right there (Naylor et al., 2012); so why do we need to split them up in silos? Imagine trying to cook your lasagne sheets in one pan and the mince in another. They need to be integrated, layered together. Medically unexplained symptoms are symptoms of illness with no obvious cause or explanation and unbelievably, they account for up to 45% of all GP appointments and half of all new visits to hospital. In fact, if you peruse the NHS page for medically unexplained symptoms, which it describes as physical symptoms such as dizziness or pain, you’ll notice:
· Depression is mentioned 5 times
· Anxiety is mentioned 4 times
· You may be referred for talking therapy, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
· They recommend regular exercise and managing stress for ‘boosting your mood’
· They have a hyperlink out to ‘exercise for depression’ and ‘5 steps to mental wellbeing’
· Last but not least, it mentions that some people who commonly experience these symptoms include people affected by the ill health or death of a relative…
Call me a conspiracy theorist but it kind of sounds like the NHS medically unexplained symptoms page is mental health advice in disguise. So, what are we talking about here? Mental health? Physical health? Lasagne?
I want to see more appreciation for whole, human health. A reflection of the reality that we are one human, with one wellness. Let’s revolutionise our thinking around health and unite behind a human and helpful language to go with it. One that we can all understand and collaborate on. Words that are clear but capture the nuance of what we are talking about. It will be a challenge but if we can attack it with the same vigour that we all started tracking our daily step count, we might just be on to something. After all, we all want to be well. We all want to be whole. Health is holistic, and lasagne is layered.
