Hello!
As you may or may not know, this week (16th - 22nd May, 2016) is Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK, organised by the Mental Health Foundation. I felt the need to write a blog post about this, as I have seen virtually no posts about Mental Health Week, yet I've seen posts about Vegetarian Week and National Doughnut Week. As much as I love doughnuts and respect and appreciate vegetarianism, these two things are a personal choice. Mostly, you choose to eat a doughnut or you choose to become vegetarian or even vegan. You don't however, choose to suffer with a mental illness.
We are all aware of the importance of mental health, and I'm sure we have all witnessed or experienced the negative impacts of ill mental health, so some people may ask; 'Why do we need to raise awareness of mental health?'. I personally think that there are still negative connotations surrounding mental health, and this is why Mental Health Awareness Week is needed. People either stigmatise ill mental health, believing that all people who struggle with their mental health are 'just crazy', or a 'lost cause'. On the opposite side of this extreme scale, people seem to romanticise ill mental health and believe that it is glamorous. Some areas of the fashion industry have even made items of clothing and jewellery glamorising mental disorders; just last year Topshop were called out for creating and selling scar temporary tattoos. Although this glamorisation could be considered a step in the right direction, in terms of accepting mental illness, it is dangerous; underestimating the risk that mental illnesses carry with them. A healthy middle-ground needs to be found. As the Duchess of Cambridge pointed out, mental health should be made as much of a priority as physical health.
Although there is much less stigma surrounding mental health compared to thirty-forty years ago, people are still discriminated for suffering with ill mental health. As an Early Childhood student, I have discovered that children are discriminated against when it comes to suffering with ill mental health. It's important to remember that mental disorders do not age discriminate; they can effect everyone from the age of 2 years old to 102 years old. People seem to forget this. Although some disorders, for example Anorexia Nervosa is more prevalent in adolescence, that does not mean that younger children do not suffer with similar difficulties and disorders. For one assignment this year, I had to research one aspect of children's health, and I focused on children's mental health. I discovered that this was a particularly under-researched area of study. In my local library there wasn't a single book on children's mental health, but there were plenty of self-help and informative books on mental illness in adolescence and adult hood. Even the resources in my university library were quite limited. There aren't many longitudinal studies on how ill mental health in childhood may impact their development and health later on in life, even though it's pretty obvious that mental disorders can damage children's normal development. For example; if a young child suffers from depression and this is not treated, this will surely prevent them from reaching their intellectual, physical and mental potential, which may also hinder them later in life. Some parents often feel ashamed that their child suffers with a mental illness, blaming themselves when this is not [always] the case.
I feel as though children's mental health services are not up the the standard that they should be. I think we're all aware of Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), and the poor reputation that they have. I recognise that CAMHS could be considered a privilege, as in some countries young people and children do not have this kind of support, they are simply discriminated against or told that there is nothing wrong with them. However, as I mentioned before, mental health can impact you later on in life. 1 in 4 people in England are likely to develop a mental disorder. These people will probably suffer with this mental disorder for the rest of your life. If you're suffering with depression, it will most likely stay with your forever; some days may be a battle, others may not. Therefore it is important that young people get the help they need as soon as possible, to ensure that the bad days are few and far between, but is CAMHS providing this help?
Is turning thousands of children away from treatment providing them with support? Is not investing in prevention schemes helping children and adolescents from developing mental disorders in the future? Is only having 1,442 inpatient beds available to young people and children enough? - Considering only 54 of these beds are located in the South West of the country. Is placing children miles away from home for treatment really helping them? I don't think so. But these are the stories that have been circulating the news this week. Moreover, it's not just this week that CAMHS has been challenged.
In 2014 the House of Commons published a report on the effectiveness or CAMHS (or the ineffectiveness, which seems to be the case). CAMHS should be offering young people help before their illnesses become to severe; instead cuts had been made in this area or services had been completely shut down. Waiting times had increased and continue to do so, as a result of this parent's are witnessing the negative impact of this on their children's mental health, as their disorder grows in severity due to the lack of help. When they did receive an appointment, they were sometimes refused help or didn't get the quality care that was needed. For adolescents reaching the age of 18, they often never made it over to Adult Mental Health Services as they were somehow 'lost in the system'. Any help that CAMHS did provide to these older individuals would have been reversed as these individuals often relapsed as a result of not having any support. When younger children were admitted into inpatient services, they were placed either miles away from home or on adult wards. This prolonged their stay in beds, due to not receiving the appropriate care they needed as it was not tailored to their age or developmental stage. This is only a small overview of some of the struggles children and young people face when it comes to receiving help with their mental illness (that's if they're allowed help).
I hope this gives you an insight as to why Mental Health Awareness Week is so important and relevant. This week, the focus is on relationships. It's common sense that if we have positive relationships around us, our mental health is often better. In contrast, if someone is stuck in an abusive romantic relationship, they often struggle with their mental health (an extreme example, but sadly a common one). This week we should do more to improve the relationships around us; not just romantic relationships, but relations with friends and family also. The Mental Health Foundation have suggested that this week you make a Relationship Resolution, such as calling someone you haven't been able to see for a while, or spending less time on your phone when you're around friends and family. It's not just people suffering with ill mental health who should do this, this is something we all could do - not just for this week either.
If you know someone struggling with their mental health, reach out to them. Although it may feel as though they are pushing you away at times, this is often not the case or intentional. Let them know that you support them, but don't be patronising; by just starting a conversation with this person and asking how they are can often be enough to put a smile on their face, letting them know that you're thinking about them.
Heather ☾
Links:
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/mental-health-awareness-week
http://news.sky.com/story/1697262/childrens-lives-at-risk-over-mental-health
http://news.sky.com/story/1696244/legal-challenge-over-childrens-mental-health
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmselect/cmhealth/342/342.pdf
