The 17th March is upon us. The story of St Patrick is widely known and I’ll not go too far into it now but he is generally credited with converting a largely pagan society into a Christian society.
I’ve chosen to focus on one specific element of this story…
How do we change people’s minds .. this time on matters of mental health rather than religion.
In 2023 St Patrick’s Mental Health Service issued survey findings that described the prevalence of stigma & attitudes to mental health which found the following:
- 19% would tell no one if they felt they had an issue with alcohol, drugs or
prescription medicines. - 13% would tell no one if they were experiencing a mental health difficulty.
- 13% would tell no one if they were taking antidepressants.
- 21% would tell no one if they had previously been an inpatient for mental
health difficulty. - 22% would tell no one if they were experiencing suicidal thoughts.
- 50% believe being treated for a mental health difficulty is seen as a sign of
personal failure by Irish society. - 22% would consider it a sign of weakness if they sought help for a mental
health difficulty. - 9% would consider it a sign of weakness if a friend sought help for a mental
health difficulty. - 65% don’t believe mental health is talked about enough in the media.
- 72% believe that Irish society tends to view people who have spent time as
an inpatient in a mental health service somewhat differently. - 51% of people are not aware that people with mental health difficulties have
the right to access reasonable accommodations in the workplace. - 26% of people have, or know someone who has, experienced discrimination
at work or in their local community due to mental health difficulties. - 23% of people have, or know someone who has, experienced stigma or
discrimination due to mental health difficulties within their families.
To be fair, there was also a lot of good stuff in the report, too. It wasn’t all bad news. But this edit of the list does demonstrate how we still have a way to go as a society in terms of our attitudes to mental health and well being. It’s fairly clear that mental illness remains a social taboo, and an issue that people prefer to hide rather than speak openly about.
So back to the original question – How do we change people’s minds?
Well, in short I don’t think there is any easy answer to this question and neither do I think that there is one answer to it, but there is something we can all do, that is to talk about our own experiences and listen to those of others with open hearts and minds.
I frequently see posts on social media from people inviting friends to “talk to me if you’re struggling” but here’s the thing.. If you really want to people to speak up when they are finding things challenging, then first, model what you want others to do. Speak up about your own experiences and you will find that others are more likely to find the courage to tell you about their own.
It’s only when we take the time to listen more to each other that we really begin to learn from each other and my sincere hope is that in learning more, we understand more and the pathway to compassion instead of judgement begins to open up.
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Integrative Counselling And Psychotherapy 