Letting go of the stigma

“You’ve got a migraine? Surely, it’s mind over matter. Think happy thoughts and you’ll be fine.” “Broken your leg? It’s all in your head. Stop thinking so much and just shake it off!” “Cancer? Could be worse – chin up.”

We would never talk to someone with a physical ailment like this, and yet anyone who has suffered with a mental health issue is likely to have been told it’s all in their head, or that they should be able to “get over it”. Depression and anxiety aren’t things we can pull ourselves together over. It’s not a person’s fault, and it’s not something they can control.

As a society we’re more comfortable talking about and looking after our physical health than our mental health, but we haven’t always known so much about caring for our bodies. Years ago, people didn’t know that brushing your teeth keeps them from going rotten and falling out, or that washing daily is a good idea (the Anglo-Saxons thought the Vikings spent far too much time bathing because they did it once...