'All Sorts' of People Have a Mental Health Agenda

I recently organised a Fellows event in Norwich to debate declining mental health levels, and it attracted some unexpected attention...

I’ve always been out about my own wavering mental health and have a family history of depression, breakdown and suicide. I view it as the down side of living with a high IQ, particularly having taken part in a PhD study on the subject. The simple fact is that if your IQ is above 140 or below 95, you have both a learning disability and a 30% chance of experiencing mental health problems.

And so with some enthusiasm I organised a debate and invited local RSA Fellows to come along. My goal was to encourage people to start thinking about how increasingly unrealistic societal expectations are creating mental health problems. Particularly worrying is that increasing numbers of children are becoming ill as a result, I believe, of the education system’s inability to recognise individuality. Conformity with national standards is the name of that game.

Bookings for the event quickly came in and it became clear that the mediaeval church I’d booked as a tranquil venue was going to be full on the night.

And then I had a rather rude email from the ‘Campaign to Save Mental Health Services in Norfolk & Suffolk.’ They felt I was wrong to invite speakers from organisations that provide mental health services without including them. They claim to speak on behalf of service users and carers and to have more than 2,000 members. They were very demanding!

So I explained that my intention was to stage an event that addressed the causes and not the cures.  They disagreed and called me a fool. Perhaps they had a point I thought, as my own confidence and mental wellbeing took something of a hit.

We agreed to disagree and their website announced that they planned a protest outside the venue on the evening of the debate. This rattled me further and I took advice from the RSA. We decided to continue with the event and everyone who’d booked was emailed and encouraged to speak with the protesters as they arrived.

In true RSA spirit, I spoke with them when arrived at the gate. I offered them drinks and when it was time to start, invited them in to take part. They promised to listen and not disrupt the meeting.

In fact they were excellent and kept to their word, even though I could see they didn’t agree with all they were hearing. Our speaker line up included the Chair of our local mental health NHS Trust and the CEO of the local Mind.

But as well as providers of mental health services, we also heard from RSA Research Assistant Tom Harrison (who blogged recently about an innovative new approach to mental health support here in Norwich). The CEO of the local Community Foundation also spoke as his organisation has created a new mental health fund which already has raised more than £300,000 to fund grassroots projects.

Early intervention was a key message, with real concern expressed about the need to help schools combat poor mental health, both in the classroom and staffroom.

As the debate drew to a close, a former head teacher who admitted that a breakdown had forced a change of career stepped forward. He offered to work with other Fellows to do something practical to help schools deal with this growing problem. Others volunteered to help and the conversation continues.

He tells me he didn’t come along with a project in mind, but simple because the theme of the evening appealed to him. I’ve connected him with a few other key people and next month, the group he’s formed are meeting to formulate a plan.

That illustrates to me more than anything, the strength of the RSA network and the power of the brand to connect and inspire. If you’d like to know more, let me know and I’ll put you in touch.

Robert Ashton FRSA