Today is World Mental Health Day and I think that we can mostly agree on two things :
- Mental health issues are increasing exponentially
- We do not seem to have found an effective and long term solution to mental health problems
A lot of effort seems to go into ‘raising awareness’ of mental health issues and also getting people talking.
I have an issue with both of those points. With regard to the first one, it seems to be that we now have what could almost be described as a ‘hyper’ awareness of mental health problems. They are spoken about endlessly on social media platforms, on TV and radio and in the press. Many celebrities are coming forward with their own stories about mental health struggles. It is generally seen as quite normal if you have had mental health challenges. In many ways this is a positive thing. We would not want to go back to a time where mental health issues were stigmatised or brushed under the carpet.
So, there is certainly more than enough ‘awareness’ now.
The bigger issue is how do we help people to feel better mentally, for the long term, not just as a quick fix.
There are a lot of campaigns which seem to have ‘getting people talking’ as their main premise to help to solve the mental health crisis. I do agree that this can be very helpful for many people, seeking support from friends or a therapist is to be encouraged. Many GPs encourage their patients to self-refer for ‘talking therapy’ which usually involves the patient having sessions of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). This involves talking to a therapist about their thoughts, feelings and behaviours, helping to recognise negative patterns and tendencies. Although this can be helpful for some, I have had very many clients who have told me that it has either not helped at all, or (and I have a real issue with this) it has made them feel much worse.
I think that one of the reasons I have a problem with this approach is that I witness hypnotherapy working so powerfully and quickly for my clients, yet there continues to be the same blinkered approach being used, when it is quite clearly ineffective for many people. Hypnotherapy is unfortunately not available on the NHS as it is not licensed, and yet it has such a transformative effect on so any people.
The urge to ‘get people talking’ is also not helpful in some cases. For some of my patients they are so traumatised by events, that the very last thing they want to do is talk about them. Teenagers, in particular, may not find it at all easy to open up about their problems. This is where hypnotherapy can be so much more effective as there does not need to be much talking at all in a session, the therapy can work in a ‘content-free’ way, gently and positively encouraging change in how the client is feeling.
Therefore, on World Mental Health day, let’s not keep harping on about ‘awareness’ or ‘getting talking’, these are worn out records. Instead, how about we look at things with a fresh perspective, opening our minds to new therapies.
And I would say that the best of these therapies for mental health issues is hypnotherapy, obviously.
Warmest wishes for a mellow October,
Wendy x
