World Mental Health day is on the 10th October, and the theme is ‘Mental Health in an Unequal World’.
Many of us have been taught that everyone has mental health, the same as everyone has physical health. Mental health can be thought of as our emotional, psychological and social wellbeing, and it can affect our relationships, how we cope with stress and how we make choices (https://www.mentalhealth.gov/basics/what-is-mental-health). Just like our physical health, our mental health sits somewhere on a spectrum, ranging from maximum mental wellbeing to minimum mental wellbeing (more on this topic here: https://yellowsheet.wordpress.com/what-is-mental-health/).
However, whilst everyone has mental health, there are different protective or risk factors that push someone up or down the spectrum.
In fact, the statistic that one in four people will experience a mental health condition doesn’t reflect that the chances of experiencing a mental health condition are not evenly distributed amongst the population (The Commission for Equality in Mental Health, 2020. The Determinants of Mental Health report. https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/commission-equality-mental-health. referred to here as ‘the report’).
As you’d expect, there are a huge number of factors that influence where someone sits on that mental health spectrum. However, did you also know that the same factors then also impact how easy (or difficult) it is for that person to access care, the stigma that they may encounter, and even the quality of care they end up getting? This was referred to in the report as the ‘inverse care law’; those who have the highest need often experience the greatest difficulty in accessing care.
The Commission for Equality in Mental Health found that these mental health inequalities were closely linked to inequality in everyday society. The statistics showed those at the highest risk of mental health inequalities were the deaf, people from African-Carribbean communities, children from poor households, those with a learning disability, the homeless, those who have experienced sexual or physical abuse, people who identify as LGBT+ (and the list went on).
The report suggests that there is an important intersect between mental health and societal issues. Whilst the report had some interesting public policy ideas that would be wonderful to see implemented, there is one take home message for our Yellow Sheet community…
Mental health isn’t an isolated aspect of our wellbeing that can be neatly put in a box; our mental health is affected by, and in turn affects, other aspects of our lives. Addressing social inequalities won’t happen overnight, and sometimes we can feel a bit powerless to effect change. However, hopefully the report shows that what we can do is make small, daily actions that make a difference. So to get started on World Mental Health Day 2021, please consider reaching out to someone outside of your community bubble to start that conversation about mental health.
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Please remember that if you need someone to talk to about your wellbeing, or patent attorney life in general, we are here for you. The Wellbeing Coffee Club is a regular get-together for trainee patent attorneys to chat over a cup of your favourite beverage. If you need help or want to talk to someone about mental health and wellbeing issues, the welfare and wellbeing section of this website is full of information and resources. Please remember that you can also contact informalswelfare@gmail.com for a confidential chat with Mental Health First Aider’s who are also trainee patent attorneys.
Laura Cassels – Informals’ Welfare Officer
The Yellow Sheet 