Looking after your mental wellbeing is vital, however mental illness is real and can be severe. There is a difference between the unpleasant and exhausting consequences of eroded mental health and a mental illness, which can become devastating.

Whilst mental health and the improvement thereof has become a largely familiar in society, mental illness seems to have taken a back seat with many assuming that it’s a rare occurrence in today’s day and age. The fact that mental health has been acknowledged and people advocate the fact that we should all be taking better care of our mental wellbeing is fantastic. However, it’s not so great when you are unable to manage a positive mental state and you can’t actually manage the recovery process.

When we think of healthcare services such as fracture clinics, sleep clinics and emergency services, we are fully aware of what they offer respectively. But when it comes to mental illness, so often you are directed to services that are designed to assist with mental health. Is this due to the stigma that surrounds mental illness, or is it too difficult to admit the possibility that someone may not get the “cure” they are seeking? The problem with combining the two, means we are denying the severity of the problem. Denying that there is a problem. Denying the existence of an illness, which is very real.

Let’s be clear here, mental health is still extremely important to consider, not only for yourself but for others too. For some it can be as easy as a slight lifestyle change - we can try to eat and sleep better, drink less and exercise more. However, for others, be extremely difficult. Sometimes it is not always a lifestyle choice to, for example, slip from heavy drinking to dependant drinking. It’s easy to try and pinpoint exact methods to ensure good mental health, but until you’ve walked in someone else’s shoes, you cannot fully understand and “plan” for good health.

The other possibility here is trying to distinguish between the two. Sometimes there is an extremely thin line and until it becomes very clearly obvious, the lines can seem very blurred. You could look at someone in a hospital who is very clearly ill, but have you thought that perhaps, only months before, they were well, but merely struggling. One can only imagine what it must be like for someone trying desperately hard to maintain their mental health, only for it to have slipped away shortly thereafter. Sometimes having a bath or practising some meditation just doesn’t cut it, and it’s difficult to establish when you are feeling down, sometimes for extended periods at a time, or whether you are actually suffering with something more serious.

““Despite my obvious desire not to sugar-coat mental illness with a false veneer of health, I think that both states exist, and co-exist, and actually we’re probably not helping people enough with their mental health.”.”

— Rebecca Lawrence, a consultant psychiatrist

It's easy for someone to give advice, or for a doctor to prescribe medication to assist, but in practicality, does this really help? And the worst part about it all, is the embarrassment around declaring the fact that you have a mental illness, because it almost seems unacceptable. But saying that you are prioritising your mental health? Seems like something we should all be doing.

To someone who is really suffering with mental illness could become rather insulted when told to “try a hot bath”. It’s not that the hot bath would be a bad thing, but rather that you are insinuating that their level of distress and suffering can be fixed with soaking yourself in some warm water. Even the most insightful lifestyle suggestions could come across as dismal and could be hugely unhelpful to someone battling with mental illness.

So what does this mean?

By all means, you should absolutely embrace mental health, but let’s try to remember that each person is different and some may get ill. It’s acceptable to think that your heart or lungs may become ill, so why is it wrong to think that the brain can’t get “sick” either? And while there may be no cure for mental illness (at this stage), you can still do something about your mental wellbeing while being treated for your illness that may indeed help. Just remember to not allow anyone to minimise or dismiss a mental condition or illness.