In light of the death of the incomparable Robin Williams…

I’d like to say a few words on mental health.

Do you consider yourself to be mentally healthy? Can you define, to yourself, what “mental health” is?

If you’re suffering from anxiety but you’re in a situation where a large percentage of people would feel anxious, do you have a mental health disorder? If you’re depressed but you've had experiences that would leave many feeling low, hopeless and cast adrift in life, are you suffering from an illness? Should this depression be considered abnormal or a proportionate reaction? After losing a loved one, for how long are you allowed to stay deep in soul destroying grief? At what point does a doctor decide there’s something wrong with you? Something beyond “the norm”, whatever that is.

My point is this. There is a very fine line (if there is a line at all) between what is considered healthy and what is considered dysfunctional. Throw in individual differences and personality (another difficult concept to define) and it’s pretty much impossible to make an objective judgement.

Any one of us could slip over this arbitrary line and find ourselves wading around in the murky waters of mental illness. You may be happy, funny, intelligent, rational. You may think you are “mentally healthy”. But anyone can slip into illness. Evaluate your life. Have a look back and think about whether your healthy mind is a result of you as a person, or the circumstances you have found yourself in.

Up to the age of 15, I was exceedingly lucky. I never found myself in circumstances likely to lead to seriously unhealthy thinking. I was so much more privileged than I realised. And, in spite of everything that’s happened, this is still true. These days though, I am officially a mentally ill person. It’s not depression, though I have felt (and sometimes still feel) depressed by my physical health. It’s not anxiety, though I confess that thinking about how I’ll provide for myself in the future makes me rather worried. I have mood swings. They’re not so extreme that you could call me bipolar, but my mood is definitely unstable.

So I'm going throw another few questions out there. What happens to your mood when you have successive nights of bad sleep? What happens when you’re going down with a nasty virus? What happens when you’re in pain? We all know how our emotions, thoughts and behaviours can change under such circumstances. (Oh, and if you’re thinking, “well I don’t change”, you’re either spectacularly lacking in self awareness or you’re an bona fide angel.) Now, imagine a full eight years of poor sleep, illness and pain.

I'm not trying to get you to pity me. I've never wanted pity. I just want you to consider the following… Do you think I have a mental illness? Or am I a normal person, my mind reacting in a normal way to abnormal circumstances? Really, the “or” shouldn't be there; there’s no reason we can’t answer “yes” to both these questions. Besides, no answer will change the fact that sometimes a little pill to take the edge off is useful.

I don’t deny that some are more disposed to developing mental health problems than others. Research has shown that depression, for example, has a genetic component. I do wish to point out the power of circumstances, the power of the situations we find ourselves in, often through no fault of our own. We can’t know what our futures will bring, or how we will react to events that have not yet taken place.

However, we can prepare and protect ourselves. We can protect ourselves from the power of emotionally unhealthy thoughts and practices by spreading awareness. By not judging. By not being condescending. By sharing our experiences. By sympathising with our fellow human beings. And most of all, by realising not one of us has immunity.

It is sadly too late to help Robin Williams, but let us act in his memory. Not just by talking about how we need to talk more, but by making a concerted effort to shape our attitudes and behaviours. Perhaps, if we change the way we view and treat mental health now, we will prevent further devastating losses in the future.