Mental Health Awareness Week kicked off yesterday, with the prevailing sentiment being that 'It's okay to not be okay'. While this is an important message, Sarah Collins of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) explains that the imbalanced structure of our capitalist society fundamentally affects our mental health in a negative way. She reflects on this and invites you to an important event that addresses these challenges...

#itsoknottobeok has become a prominently used hashtag over the past year as high-profile mental ill health issues have come to the fore. Young male suicide, eating disorders, body dysmorphia, stress and anxiety, isolation and loneliness amongst the young and elderly: these are all themes we're increasingly aware of and unsure of how to address.



Correctly, people are pointing out that these issues can and will affect all of us at some point in our lives and therefore #itsoknottobeok. But whilst we encourage each other to ‘talk about our feelings’ (being careful not to overload the listener who might be struggling themselves) or call a charity helpline (if that charity has survived austerity cutbacks) or speak to your GP (and wait months for an NHS appointment to speak to a counsellor, because… austerity cutbacks), is there not something more fundamental about the way our society is structured which is causing or exacerbating the rise in mental ill health?



One in nine young people attempting suicide, over two-thirds of people in Glasgow stating that they have experienced loneliness and two-thirds of young women reporting that they have been sexually harassed at work: think of what this does to the psyche of a society trying to progress.



There's a social context to the rise in mental ill health and it’s one which means that people can't simply ‘get over it’ or ‘deal with it’ without a sharp turn towards breaking down structural barriers. The Lonely Society, a 2010 report commissioned by The Mental Health Foundation, noted a link between our "individualistic society" and an increase in mental health issues over the past 50 years. It also drew on research showing that mental health problems occur more frequently in unequal societies where vulnerable people are often undervalued and socially neglected.



A short-term policy response will not cure this endemic, but a multi-faceted and well-resourced strategy, which places the idea of a well-resourced and funded community at the core, can mitigate against social isolation and loneliness, reversing the tide in favour of social cohesion. And an intersectional response is needed.



One which recognises that older LGBT+ people report even higher levels of loneliness and isolation; that the BME community confront disproportionately higher levels of mental ill health in part due to the continued institutional and systemic harassment and subsequent feelings of isolation; that young men feel disempowered and lonely partly due to the economic and industrial changes in the way society has shifted thereby often perpetuating the toxic masculinity which harms so many; and that women being sexually harassed or discriminated against can cause or exacerbate mental ill health and women’s image of themselves.



With employment becoming increasingly precarious for so many workers in Scotland, rife low pay and under-employment, and stress and anxiety becoming normal features of our lives, mental ill health is a trade union issue.



The Equality Committees of the STUC have each identified mental health as a key priority for 2018/19. We know that public services that once helped people mitigate mental ill health are stretched to breaking point due to years of cuts. And we also know there are deep structural and cultural problems that lead to workers from under-represented communities being disproportionately impacted by poor mental well-being, and having greater barriers put in the way of treatment and support.