Firstly some statistics, taken from Mental Health.org.uk.
- 1 in 4 people will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year
- Mixed anxiety and depression is the most common mental disorder in Britain
- Women are more likely to have been treated for a mental health problem than men
- About 10% of children have a mental health problem at any one time
- Depression affects 1 in 5 older people
- Suicides rates show that British men are three times as likely to die by suicide than British women
- Self-harm statistics for the UK show one of the highest rates in Europe: 400 per 100,000 population
- Only 1 in 10 prisoners has no mental disorder
Pretty worrying isn’t it, if it is to be believed?
This information comes from a website that purports to being “committed to reducing the suffering caused by mental ill health and to help everyone lead mentally healthier lives.”
It seems to me that ‘the tubes’ are rife with this nonsense about an anxiety ‘epidemic’. I imagine that scaremongering makes for getting lots of website visits, but the unmeasured cost of it is that so many people (who do not have anxiety) effectively talk themselves into having it and, ironically all but bring on the symptoms of actual anxiety or panic attacks. While this is great for my business, it slowly spreads misery and misinformation among the good people of Great Britannia! So my advice, if you want to avoid having to visit oddball changeworkers like me, or worse still, creepy hypnotists (believe me, in this profession there are a few) then be mindful of the kind of meaning you are making and deriving from certain experiences.
You have more power than you think (though not absolute power) to disseminate and decide what you ‘grok’ and make of different experiences. You might have to apply yourself a little mentally, as often people can default to a negative perspective. The reason being that it’s largely this negativity that’s kept our species alive. But I digress. Challenge yourself to draw out different meanings from situations. Pretend you’re someone else, or a more capable version of yourself, or perhaps someone who isn’t fazed by a situation, that acts indifferently as a result of it.
It may take practice, and god forbid, hard work, but the rewards are massive.
I’ll happily help you in this capacity in whatever way I can, just drop me a line!
Alternatively, visit the Slapping Medicine Man.