Our View of Mental Health
All people experience distress at some point in our lives because for example:
- People who we love may die
- Bad things can happen to us in life
- Pressure can get too much
At such times we will go through the range of feelings, for example, anger, sadness, helplessness and fear all of which people who have mental health problems may experience as well. So, right now, we all have the knowledge to be able to put ourselves in the shoes of a person who is in distress. So, why is there still stigma about mental ill health? More
Nowadays, it is more common to hear mental health being compared to a spectrum rather than two absolute categories of “Sanity” and “Madness”. This is important because we are all on this spectrum, can move up or down it and there is no such thing as perfect mental health. In Bosnia, during the wars in the 90s, for instance, there were individual instances of “spontaneous psychosis” recorded by psychiatrists. This illustrates how temporary both mental health and mental ill health can be. Perhaps it is better to think about these “illnesses” as being strategies to help us cope.
Symptoms and Diagnosis
Leeds Mind, along with our national body, are sceptical about diagnosis. We know that the average time for determining a diagnosis is 12 minutes; we know that
- The average duration for a consultation with a psychiatrist is 12 minutes
- individuals often receive different diagnoses from different clinicians
- There is a considerable overlap of symptoms between differnt conditions
While some people may feel relief at receiving a diagnosis, we think care should be taken to not take them too literally. Maybe thinking in terms of symptoms is more useful. It is symptoms people have to put up with and manage; a symptom which is distressing; and symptoms can be described with a greater degree of accuracy.
The medical view of mental health problems seeks to find the cause of the problem in the individual. Individuals are often left with the belief that their distress arises from a flaw in their genes or internal chemistry. Medication can play a role in relieving symptoms but does not tackle the cause of the individual's distress and often produces side effects. Our experience has shown that the causes of mental ill health often lie in the personal experience of the individual and what kinds of pressure they are subjected to. People's experiences vary, of course, but common themes contributing to mental ill health can be identified in poverty, discrimination, abuse and loss. along with other experiences which may lead to a sense of helplessness.
Recovery
One of the key purposes of our organisation is to help people find solutions which reverse this sense of helplessness and increase their sense of control over their lives. Helping people recognise that they are not biologically or genetically flawed can be a vital step. In helping people to regain a sense of control over their lives, we believe it is essential to enable individuals to explore a wide range of treatments and support options. When someone comes into one of our services we ask them what they want us to help them achieve. Setting such goals with a person is often the first step on the road to recovery.
Above all, our experiences leave us optimistic about individuals' ability to recover from experiences of mental ill health. Many individuals connected with Leeds Mind have shown that when we treat people with respect and view individuals as complete people they have the potential to manage their distress, develop their life skills and relationships, build self esteem and lead valued lives.
Position Papers
We have produced a series of position papers which help set out in more detail the view we take on particular issues in the field. We hope that these will make a contribution which helps improve outcomes for people with mental health problems. Choose from
We have written up some of the fundamental requirements for staying mentally healthy which we think could make a difference to nearly everyone. It is a list of 13 principles which we call The Basics. To download a copy click here
