9 mental health cause factors to understand
Earlier this month it was World Mental Health Day - a day to raise awareness and share our support for our individual and collective mental health.
It’s safe to say that in 2020 I have conversations about mental health with friends and family that were non-existent 5 years ago.
Organisations run initiatives and social media spreads awareness. Yet mental health issues are a growing public concern, especially for young people and with a pandemic in full force.
So after reading an Instagram post by Matt Haig about the need to look at causes, I decided to direct some thinking to cause factors. And I remembered reading Lost Connections by Johann Hari a year ago.
I thought I’d share a high-level summary of the environmental and psychological factors he details in the book. It was helpful for me to revise them and write this article, so I hope it’s insightful for you too.
1) Disconnect from meaningful work
This is the thing I’m most interested in from this list - and I believe it’s important to consider both within organisations and for those working more independently (self-employed, running a business etc.). Good management, authentic servant leadership and purposeful business all weave into this. Enabling empowered careers that have a sense of autonomy and personal growth helps each person thrive individually.
2) Disconnect from others
We know loneliness hurts and I’m sure we’ve all felt different forms of it at different times, especially this year. I often think back to the years when I travelled around the world, sometimes solo. The places in the world I look back on most fondly are those where I was with some great people and it taught me that people can be more important than the place. We also crave depth of connection and to feel a sense of community - be it within our teams, organisation or local environment.
3) Disconnect from meaningful values
This was one of my favourite concepts from the book - the notion that we adopt ‘junk values’ which creep up on us slowly through cultural influences. The striving for likes, stuff and external validation - which seem normalised in the moment but don’t feed our souls long term. Asking yourself honestly from where you’re operating is powerful.
“The more you think life is about having stuff and superiority and showing it off, the more unhappy, the more depressed and anxious you will be” Johann Hari
Some examples of the meaningful values that may be buried under some junk: honesty, integrity, innovation, vulnerability, standing up for yourself or others, self-respect, community, curiosity, charity, humility or creativity.
4) Childhood trauma
This one comes in many different forms. I used to think childhood trauma was simply a case of the worst kind of things, but I’ve since realised it can be much more nuanced than this. The role of therapy I see as incredibly valuable for healing. Having committed and experienced it myself, I can only hope that talk therapy is made widely accessible and normalised so that trauma healing and deep self-awareness is a right of passage for all.
5) Disconnect from status and respect
We have a human need for significance. We seek belonging and even though we’re told not to care, we do still care what others think. We know from the work of Brene Brown that shame is a debilitating emotion - the difference between ‘I did something bad’ to ‘I am a bad person’. With this cause, at a societal level I feel we must continue to fight trolling and be conscious of going too far with ‘cancel culture’. My heart still breaks at the tragedy of Caroline Flack - the press circus, the online ridicule and potential shame.
6) Disconnection from nature
This one doesn’t need much explanation if you’ve felt the power of nature yourself. The relaxation, the calmness and perspective enhancement that being in nature gives us. Personally I’m a water girl - I am drawn to the sea; I am in love with whales and love outdoor wild swimming. But I’m also guilty of forgetting nature's power sometimes, sitting in my office all day and taking it for granted. This is a memo for myself!
7) Disconnect from a secure and hopeful future
I’m sure this can be explained simply with the year 2020 for many. Not knowing when things might end or get better is now something we can all relate to. The way I feel we work around this is with mindset shifts. We can only control our minds so it’s a case of reframing - this year is building our resilience, it’s showing up the junk values for what they are, it’s shattering the beliefs around what can be done remotely. And it’s teaching us to embrace uncertainty and cultivate hope when it’s hard.
8) Genes
Our brains are so complicated even the neuroscientists know that we don’t know so much about them. And Johann in the book talks about the science that there is some genetic disposition towards mental health illness. What I take for this, is that we really need to make sure we reserve judgement and continue to fight the stigma around mental health. Each individual is wired differently, has experienced a different upbringing and is fighting battles we may not know.
9) Changes in the brain
Neuroplasticity is the ability for our neural networks to change over time - our brain is growing and shaping depending on what we do and how we think. Myelin, the protective ‘sheath’ that allows electrical impulses to transmit quickly and efficiently along the nerve cells, builds up when we practice or repeat things.
If for decades we’ve been in negative thought patterns - we are fat, we are a failure or unworthy, our brain may have changed. Alternatively, science shows that 8-weeks of mindfulness induces positive brain changes and associated myelin build up. It goes all ways.
This is empowering to consider. It’s not going to be an overnight job but we can be mindful of what’s going on and seek to weaken the less helpful patterns.
Have you got any personal experiences of the above that reinforced their importance for you?