It’s World Mental Health Day, but should it be?

Today is World Mental Health Day, October 10th, 2020.

And while this day provides us the opportunity to talk about mental health, break down the barriers, address the stigma, and share our best inspirational memes; what is it really all about?

 According to the World Health Organisation, World Mental Health Day is “raising awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilizing efforts in support of mental health”.

Undoubtedly this is an important topic. However, it doesn’t really seem to be about health, but more about addressing this issues of mental illness.

Also according to the World Health Organisation;

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

There are two points here that need to be considered:

1. Health is not the  absence of illness or disease.
2. Health is made up of the three components physical, mental, and social. They are not different types of ‘health’, they are all essential parts of health. 

And yet, here we are with World Mental Health Day.

As an interesting side note, this definition of health isn’t a new version to address the changing needs of our society. The WHO definition of health  has not changed since 1948. 

It is an undeniable fact that mental illness is subject to a degree of stigma that is not applied equally to physical or social health. It might sound like  semantics, but generally speaking, ‘health’ related topics are not stigmatized, however ‘illness’ is. 

Health is not just the absence of illness. Which means mental health is not just the absence of mental illness. 

And yet. We still address them separately. It’s not World Health Day, its World Mental Health Day. Is there really something to be gained by separating health and addressing them separately? Maybe. It’s a big topic and there are a lot of issues. 

Particularly now, in 2020 when the world is  facing a physical health crisis, that has resulted in significant issues for our social and mental health. 

Why should Health be addressed as one?

Which is why now, in 2020, it is more important than ever to put aside the silo approach to health as a three factors in solution, and instead take a moment to address how they’re related. Specifically how physical and social health are connected to mental health.

What we eat, how much sleep we get, and the frequency in which we exercise are considered to be key components of our physical health. What we are starting to understand is that all three of these have a two-factor association to our mental health. They have a causal relationship with our mental health, as well as being impacted by our mental health.

What does that mean? Eating well, and getting enough sleep and exercise can have a positive impact on our mental health. This is separate from the effect relationship these same factors have on our mental health; when experiencing poor mental health, it can have a negative impact on the food we eat, how  much sleep we get, and the amount we exercise. 

The same is true with social health and mental health. Social isolation kills, it affects our mental and physical health. Being socially isolated has an adverse impact on our mental health, particularly during the social isolation associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.  And inversely, poor mental health can lead to being socially isolated. People experiencing mental illness are less likely to engage with social supports, and are more likely to experience social isolation. 

Where does this  leave World Mental Health Day?

So what does this mean for World Mental Health Day? It can be a frustrating conversation. Yet it’s necessary one. Separating mental health from health, even if the aim is to increase  awareness, is damaging for all of our mental health. It allows us, as well as professionals, service providers, and government and non-government agencies to deprioritize essential aspects of health. Which is, ironically, further damaging everyone’s mental health. 

Simply put; food, sleep, and exercise should not come after mental health specific initiatives or interventions. Social connections should not be considered an addition or an afterthought. Addressing only the ‘mental’ aspects of health in an attempt to improve mental health is like setting a broken leg, but not bothering with the cast or crutches. It’s not going to be an effective long term solution. 

Which brings us to the  final questions – what can be done? At the risk of oversimplification, it might well be about going back to the WHO’s  1948 pronouncement that health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being. And stop trying to separate them.