This Independent Life: why mental health is synonymous with physical health

Today is World Mental Health Day, a day which is recognised every year on 10th October by the World Health Organisation. Every year there’s a different theme set by the World Federation for Mental Health, and this years theme is “Make mental health and wellbeing for all a global priority”.

I’ve lived with mental health issues for as long as I can remember, and now I have the technical diagnoses of depression and anxiety plus a physical health condition, endometriosis, I always struggle with this separation of mental and physical health. To me they are intrinsically linked and synonymous with each other in a way that feels naive to separate.

I didn’t do anything about my mental health for years, and as a result had a breakdown in 2021. If I’m completely honest, I was having suicidal thoughts, and they were looming to the forefront more and more frequently. I couldn’t see a way out of the darkness until my physical health deteriorated, and I believe the combination forced me to admit what was going on and finally ask for help.

I find parallels with mental and physical health with women’s health, in that arguably there should be no ‘women’s health’. There is just human health. Separating it out in this way can bring benefits when it comes to things like raising awareness, pushing for innovation, and fighting for change. However, I can’t help but feel like it also implies that it’s a separate issue. That’s it’s not linked or connected to the field of overall health.

Take endometriosis as an example. The aim of the new 2022 guidelines on endometriosis, created by the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, is to aid healthcare professionals in everyday clinical decisions about appropriate and effective care of their patients. As a chronic condition which arguably impacts all aspects of a patients life due to pain and other symptoms, I can not fathom how the guidelines have produced the following:

“Follow-up and psychological support should be considered in women with confirmed endometriosis, particularly deep and ovarian endometriosis, although there is currently no evidence of benefit of regular long-term monitoring for early detection of recurrence, complications, or malignancy - Weak recommendation”.

I’d put money on the fact that if you interviewed 100 people with endometriosis, they’d all strongly disagree with this recommendation. And this is just 1 example. Mental and physical health must be treated equally and not as separate issues. Just as poor physical health is linked to poor mental health, so is poor mental health linked to poor physical health. There are numerous studies and stats that back this up, for example it’s know that depression increases the risk particularly for long-lasting conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.

There’s no World Physical Health Day, that I can find at least, and so I think it’s important that we take this as an opportunity to reinforce that there is a need for mental health support to be provided for and alongside every physical health condition, period. Or 1 better, that we move away from reactive medical treatment to a preventive model, offering mental and physical health support to everyone regardless of their situation to help mitigate issues from happening in the first place. Neither of these approaches are currently happening within the healthcare industry, and I think this needs to change.

Whilst it’s amazing that we have a day to recognise mental health, and to see the shift and destigmatisation of mental health in society, I’d like to take this moment to encourage you to reflect on your life as a whole. It starts with each and every one of us looking at ourselves, being deeply honest, and questioning if both our mental health, and physical health, is truly where it should be. And if it’s not, recognising that taking positive action starts with us. Even if that positive action is something small, like starting to run in the mornings (a big one for me but it depends who you ask!), it all adds up.

Until mental health support for all becomes a reality, think about the small changes, or big changes, that you can make towards not allowing your health to hold you back in your life. And reflect on the need and what you can do to make mental and physical health and wellbeing a priority for yourself, and a global priority for all.