Mental Health is Still Waiting for its Messiah!

Mental health, mental health, mental health!!!

 These days you seem to hear the phrase everywhere, as per my last article, COVID19 has done more to raise the awareness of mental health than any other factor in the last 10yrs!

As the saying goes, better late than never!

If there is a part of the human function that is in its own league when it comes to not being understood, nurtured, discussed and addressed correctly, then Mental Health is the winner by a million miles.

 Ruby Wax put it perfectly in her quote which unashamedly adorns the homepage of my website like a bling gold chain on a rapper without much essence.

 Ruby quoted “ How come every organ in your body can get sick and you get sympathy, except the brain?

Mental health is still a very personal thing, it does not have a mega star like Greta Thunberg that is changing the thinking of future generations and gracing the front pages of magazines such as Time. Mental health does not have a brave leader and a Nobel Laureate behind it such as Malala Yousufzai, for the oppression of children’s and women’s education for example.

As with all causes, its leaders and poster faces, we must be careful to never take away the struggle and hard work of that person, regardless of the success they have had.

Greta Thunberg’s generation may not have a planet to raise their kids on, so she started a protest that started a global movement. A just, valid and important cause. Same as Malala’s journey, which really started when she was shot in the head as a teenager by the Taliban. These and many other causes are all great, none of which a bigger or more important than each other.

So if I was to say, Mental Health, is the biggest issue we face above all others right now in the world. Would it be met with outrage? Possibly!

I actually think that it is, just like when I wrote that mental health is in a league of its own when it comes to not being understood, nurtured, discussed and addressed correctly. I also think that mental health is in a league of its own when it comes to world affairs and issues. I think it’s the most important topic of our time, it does take a bit of courage to say so, but it also takes a bit of information and critical thinking too!

Let’s take the politicians that put profit over everything, a perfect example of this is the current president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro . Mr. Bolsonara, has green-lighted the ongoing destruction of the Amazon rainforest and the killing of indigenous tribes for the logging industry.

Let’s take powerful men such as Donald Trump who does not believe in climate change or global warming, a true kick in the face for the Greta Thunberg generation who are dependant on leaders like him to make changes now, on behalf of their generation. Let’s take the rape issue in India and South Africa, the FGM problem in Ethiopia, the never ending wars in the Middle East, the huge divide between the rich and the poor worldwide, the oppression of women, LGBTQ rights and the total annihilation of billions of animals for food. The list goes on and on!

So, how dare I say mental health is more important than any of the above, right? 

Let me try to explain why!

To change anything, it’s takes a change of mindset, and a change of mindset can only happen if the person already has a good state of mental wellbeing. In fact a person with a good state of mental wellbeing will not need a change of mindset, they would be naturally open to other opinions, they will be able to balance facts, stats and ideas in a critical and holistic way. 

Mental health is the deciding factor for us all, even for those who make the decisions that impact us as a species. We need to get our mental health and wellbeing right, before we can make decisions that are truly beneficial to us all. A group of mentally well people are highly unlikely to commit a gang rape, to make decisions that can be detrimental and damaging to our planet. A group of mentally well people will not pit one race against another, man against woman and adult against child etc.

In a mentally well world there would be no need for a Greta Thunberg or Malala Yousufzai to exist, as the type of things that produced Greta and Malala would not exist. Some will say this is an utopia that I speak of, but as a species, in our “civilisation”, we have never tried to all be mentally well, in fact we have hardly talked about it, so can it be brushed off so easily? 

It is only now, in this present time and for the first time, that mental health is getting the attention it needs. Yet mental health has consciously or subconsciously determined every decision that has ever been made by our species since the beginning of time. It has been the driving force for everything we have done, it has determined our history and will determine our future.

So that leads us on to what is probably one of the most important questions of our time;

Is the world run by mentally unwell people, making decisions for a populous that is already mentally unwell, and if so what are the consequences ?

Taking a brief look at modern history, it seems a likely possibility. What else can explain the self-destructive path we have taken with ourselves, and our planet, that gave rise to the likes of the Greta’s and Malala’s of this world?

The thing is, the domino effect of mental health is both its gift and curse. Depending on the direction we go with it, the positive impact of mental health and wellbeing can be as major as it’s negative impact. As a species we are now at a crossroads, that point of now or never. So, with so much on the line and it’s urgency, what’s it going to take to find that person that will take mental health to the place it needs to be?

Where is Mental Health’s Messiah?