Mental health awareness

Some of what you are describing is sensory integration disorder, which is often found in autistic spectrum. A normal background sound for you and I may drive someone on the spectrum crazy. What I was describing in my prior post was that some mental illness may actually be a physiological response, the “fight or flight” system gone awry.

 

Darn solid prediction!

 

As someone who has worked in the mental health sphere for the past 5 years, a few thoughts...

The medicalisation of all aspects of mental health (especially as 'disorder', which sits on a linear spectrum) as we are seeing at the moment is a really slippery slope.

Cliff Notes 101: Mental health, or Mental Wellbeing is something everyone has. It's literally just the term given to our thoughts, feelings, moods, emotions. No more, no less. The problem is, "mental health" has been long attached to a negative connotation - that of diagnosable illness, stemming from prolonged poor mental health. It frustrates me no end to see people struggling almost being labelled as discrete from the 'rest of us'

I cannot stress enough: Poor mental health is not necessarily indicative of an illness - everyone experiences poor mental wellbeing, just as we do the good stuff. This is why the devastating stigma sits around it - not enough people understand this and so it becomes isolating to those who are in real need of help.

I've always found it much easier to refer to it like this:

Mental health sits on a very clear continuum, and making sure everyone knows they're on it is key. It upsets me when I see the stigma and shame still persisting because that's only poor messaging/information sharing that is holding it back. Many people absolutely DO have mental health illness and require professional input to help them recover (think the red section above,). I worked primarily in educating people in the green sections about how to cope with the yellow and orange - essentially prevention. By the way, you can have a diagnosed mental health illness and still thrive or be excelling with your day to day wellbeing.

When society realises the biggest issues are not being diagnosed in a binary fashion, but actually creating a sustainable way to support those in the yellow and orange, we're all going to be in a much better place.

My advice? Embrace your vulnerabilities in the way you promote your achievements.

 

I like how you've phrased this, and it's consistent with everything I've read. Mental health is not binary, and I agree with the concerns about stigma. But I'm curious about the criteria for diagnosing an actual mental health "illness" as opposed to a finding that someone may be having issues which don't meet the criteria for an "illness."

 

The line is simple in the UK; only a GP can officially diagnose anything in this respect. And in my experience, many GPs are less secure about mental health diagnoses than they probably should be. The process itself is inconsistent at best.

GPs, I'm told, wouldn't likely diagnose any illness along these lines without at least 12 months or so to review, and often, many other agencies are involved. My GP intimated I had 'generalised anxiety disorder' in 2018 but in truth, as I've progressed over the past 5 years, I'm not sure it's an accurate reflection of my experience. My wellbeing right now, by the way, is as good as it has ever been, which also complicates a permanent diagnosis. At the time, I was in crisis.

I also think there's a worrying (and increasing) tendency to "medicate first, resolve later" which increases the medicalisation of the process. It's an industry that has always had a very visible checklist to identify ailments and now, mental health issues are entirely non-conforming to that process. Sticking everyone on SSIDs is a mask, not a solution to the underlying causes.

Consequently, I've noticed a real increase in people self-diagnosing: "I've got Anxiety. I've got OCD. I've got Depression." Often, many of the people I've worked with are really saying is "I'm struggling with my mental wellbeing, right now and I need help" - I freely admit, it's hard, because we all experience things differently and one person's window of tolerance will be entirely different to the next. I am firm believer that social prescribing will have an increasingly important role to play going forward.

So to answer your (ironically, very clear) question, I'm afraid I think there's no straightforward answer.

 

Interesting read …

https://depts.washington.edu/psychr...-in-psychiatry-The-Myth-of-Mental-Illness.pdf

 

OT..but good to see you limey

 

I would like to understand the reason for the apparent explosion in autism. Months back, I found myself engaged in conversation with an autism advocate. When I half-jokingly asked if everyone was autistic she replied, quite seriously, “Everybody is autistic.”

 

All interesting. A psychiatrist told me years ago that I had indicators (maybe the wrong word) of ADHD and OCD and maybe something else. He said those indicators can overlap, etc. It occurred to me some time later that I wasn't sure if I'd been given a formal diagnosis or not, whether any such diagnosises would have to be updated, etc. I don't know if it might be similar to physical conditions. For example, my understanding is that people can be diabetic but cease being diabetic if they make the right dietary changes and stick to them.

 

I have little doubt that if ADHD was in currency when I was a lad … I would have been so diagnosed.

Back then it was Restless Boy Syndrome.

 

Don't know. I suspect most things are more likely to be identified and diagnosed these days, particularly in cases where someone is functioning at tolerable levels and may have not gotten official diagnoses in the past. I've also read about a potential correlation with autism and parents who are older. I'm not sure if there's a consensus on that but that could be a factor.

 

I’ve never been a therapist. Wouldn’t care to be. But I did audit a Master’s level counseling program which involved intense practicums and such. One thing we discussed is the modern tendency to abnormalize the normal. And there is an old proverb that I like …

“When you hear hoof beats outside the tent, think horses, not zebras.”

 

I think it's important for us to keep in mind that some degree of stress, anxiety, and depression are part of life, particularly when those things are temporary. Learning to accept or even embrace manageable discomfort is a great goal IMO. Having said that, I think it's difficult for individuals to know what's normal and what isn't because we can't really know what "normal" people are thinking or how they're feeling day to day. Like, I don't know if you've ever wondered if you're crazy and then pondered whether everyone else is asking themselves the same thing.

I don't think most people enjoy going to doctors. My psychiatrist visits weren't covered by insurance and also took time out of my day having to drive there, wait, sit through the appointment, drive back to work, go to the pharmacy, etc. I would not have spent that time and money if I thought I was within normal ranges. I don't have a psychiatrist or therapist at this point (do have a GP), but part of me thinks all of us could benefit from having a life coach or therapist to hold us accountable, much like having a gym or running partner. I suspect in the past that places of worship were more likely to fill this sort of role.

 

I never underestimate the value of an empathetic ear. Or even just a friend who’s present. And that may not cost a thing. One of my favorite Bible passages is Job 2:11-13 …

“Three of Job’s friends heard of all the trouble that had fallen on him. Each traveled from his own country … and went together to Job to keep him company and comfort him. When they first caught sight of him they could hardly recognize him! They cried out in lament, ripped their robes, and dumped dirt on their heads as a sign of their grief. [and my favorite part] Then they sat with him on the ground. SEVEN DAYS AND NIGHTS they sat there without saying a word because they could see how deeply he was suffering.”

 

I'm very fortunate to have great friends and family, so social support is not an issue for me. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I think the vast majority of what I've experienced over the years has been generalized and not specific to any particular problem or issue I wanted to talk through (although that's important, too).

I used to lock, unlock, and lock the same door multiple times before I could really be sure I actually locked it. Same thing with setting alarm clocks - set it, unset it, and repeat a few times. I might add up or subtract things in my head for no use reason or feel compelled to do certain things to even out the numbers. I may have thoughts or puzzles I can't get out of my mind - similar to having a song stuck in your head.

I know everyone can be quirky, but I'm either a little extra weird or other people are just not over-sharers like I am, lol.

 

I’ve relinquished the notion that some of us are quirky whereas some are not. The problem with ‘mental illness’ is that we are keen to attach labels to people and whisper about them behind their backs.

 

Everyone is not "autistic." But the behaviors associated with high functioning autism are actually pretty common, and you also have another group of people who feel a certain way inside, but still function normally enough that they never get a diagnosis.

 

It depends how severe it is. I have adult ADD and if you had what I have you would know something was wrong. Lifestyle can make it worse but not make it didappear.

 

Poor vision doesn't make a person "abnormal," but we still treat it. I think the question isn't so much the diagnosis, but whether interventions would help that individual. And if so, you need a diagnosis.

 

Only someone who wanted it to be true could have said such a thing.