Mental health is a topical discussion which seems to be covered a lot more in the last few years. Anxiety, depression, OCD are just a few to note. Statistically, according to World Health Organisation (WHO), 450 million people suffer from a mental illness, with 1 in 4 people being affected by a mental illness at one stage of their life. Regardless of the amount of awareness raised, there is always going to be a stigma surrounding mental health. It seems these days as if it’s almost “glamorous” to have a mental illness.

Of course, I think it’s great for mental health to be such a hot topic. For those who may be suffering, it reassures them that they aren’t alone. It’s critical to provide the NHS with the funding to provide the help and support required, and help to deliver a high quality service and health practice. With that being said, mental health doesn’t receive the same funding as physical hospitals do - there is a gap, which creates inequality between those with a physical condition and those with a mental illness because varying funding means varying levels in treatment, staff and facilities. Reports from the BBC in 2017 states that the Scottish Government intend to invest an additional £500,000 into mental health funding in Scotland, whereas, NHS England saw a poor 2.5% increase in their budget spending in 2016-2017, as reported by The Guardian. But, then again, although Scotland is to receive this extra funding, inequalities will still exist. Such a thing as the Postcode Lottery exists, and this is where some local councils in Scotland will receive more funding than others for their treatment and medication, staff levels will vary as will waiting lists. It’s a vicious cycle which needs to be sorted, and quick.

The BBC stated that the number of people calling the NHS Scotland 24 for mental health had doubled within a 10 year period; increasing from 38,000 in 2006 to 87,000 in 2016. The call line provides over the phone care and advice for those who are experiencing depression, anxiety or low moods. If this isn’t an alarm bell, then I don’t know what will be. This alarming figure shows we need to act, and fast. Are we doing enough? The NHS staff are working extremely hard in their trained department, however, I reckon the media has a part to play here too. Their reporting never seems to portray mental health in a beneficial manner. Sure, they may be informing their viewers that such a celebrity has suffered from depression, anxiety etc, but I feel it’s never enough. Either touch upon the topic and dig deeper, or don’t go near it. By all means do I think it’s a great thing to raise awareness, but only raise awareness if you’re going to do it in the right way.

Social media is a brilliant platform to discuss mental health. I follow loads of bloggers, and I think it’s great that they talk about their own personal experience, may it be on their blog, Twitter, Instagram etc. Readers/audience have a high affinity with the blogger, hence why they follow them, so can relate to them on a personal level. The amount of people I have seen tweeting or messaging a blogger regarding a mental health issue whereby they’re thanking them for being so open and honest, and how talking about their experience has helped them, is incredible. I’m totally up for supporting each other, but do we really need to rely on social media to help support those suffering? Especially when the NHS is available?

Twice as many women go to their GP regarding mental health, but suicide is amongst one of the biggest causes of death for young men. Perhaps people find it difficult to come to terms with how they’re feeling, and unfortunately cannot cope. It genuinely rips my heart to pieces to think that some people feel so low and/or alone that they feel the need to take their own life. Some people aren’t aware of the services available to help them. Google “mental health Scotland” and you would be surprised with the number of charities whose webpages come up. SAMH, Mental Health Foundation and Mind are a few to name. Some people feel embarrassed to discuss their emotions and don’t want to rely on the NHS, so a charity is often a better option for them. I applaud volunteers who associate themselves with such charities because they are doing it for a good cause, and they must feel so fulfilled being able to help others.

As I touched upon earlier, waiting lists vary across the UK. A conclusion I have came to after observing the news is that NHS Scotland is better off than NHS England. Whilst doing research on this topic, an article by The Telegraph, published an report yesterday where GPs have allegedly been telling their young patients to “exaggerate their mental health conditions if they wish to receive any form of help”. The NHS have failed to provide a service to many young people because they are having to “ration” their treatment. To sum it up in one word, this is quite frankly, disgusting. I can tell you right now, this is absolutely not finding the root cause in order to help the patient and help prevent further deterioration in further adulthood. If their case appears serious enough, they may even have to wait as long as 18 months before they receive any form of help. 18 months, or a year and a half, is enough time for their illness to spiral out of control and become worse. A case given in this report was that a girl who was suffering with anxiety wasn’t allocated a slot for treatment because “she wasn’t thin enough”. I am appalled and sickened.

All in all, I feel that not enough is being done to help those suffering, especially those suffering in silence. One beneficial thing the Government could do is introduce mental health education at school, highlighting the main ways to access help and ways to identify the signs of developing illnesses, whether it’s within yourself or a friend/family. Funding is an indefinite problem because the NHS are always facing budget cuts etc, but I feel funding needs to be divided equally so that each area receives a fair amount to afford their resources. In ten years time, I really hope I can sit here and see an improved society in regards to mental health; that the stigma surrounding it decreases and that people are able to access help easier.