World Mental Health Day: Finding commonalities in the storms of life

‘Beneath our clothes, our reputations, our pretensions, beneath our religion or lack of it, we are all vulnerable both to the storm without and the storm within’  
Frederick Buechner   

World Mental Health Day seeks to ensure everyone’s mental health is understood and considered with compassion – however it manifests.     

Frederick Buechner provides a timely reminder of the vicissitudes of life, our common humanity and the need for compassion and connection in the above excerpt from his collection of essays, Telling the Truth. It highlights a common vulnerability to the storms of life, regardless of a person’s external appearances, social standing or stage in career. Nurses are no exception. These storms can come from external sources or from within us; whatever guise they come in, they test our resilience, strength and relationships.   

To manage our fears, doubts and struggles, we must consider ways to look after and sustain our own mental wellbeing. Looking after ourselves isn’t easy, as highlighted recently by the need to launch the RCN and NHS England’s national suicide prevention toolkit. It goes against the grain for nurses to share their vulnerabilities and ask for help.   

So, what is the first step in recognising mental ill health? First, we must respond with as much compassion and consideration as we do when a colleague tells us they have received a cancer diagnosis or are being treated for a heart condition.   

Unlike many physical health concerns, signs and symptoms of mental health deterioration aren’t always noticeable. It creeps up on you and even if early signs are spotted, they tend to be ignored, criticised, disbelieved or personalised. Our colleagues can be ill-advised, but they aren’t alone. As a mental health nurse with over 30 years’ clinical experience, I have worked with many patients and their families, who recall seeing changes in attitudes, beliefs and behaviours that they wished they had aired concerns about, sought help for or talked through when they initially noticed them.

No one’s early warning signs are the same but there are commonalities that do indicate someone is struggling mentally. The Stress Vulnerability bucket pictured here provides a way to share personal circumstances and our capacity for handling stressors. The greater your vulnerability, whether that’s because of mental illness or anything else, the smaller your bucket is. When you’re well, your bucket has more capacity. 

World Mental Health Day provides an opportunity to highlight that, in the process of looking after others, it’s vitally important to consider ways to share our vulnerabilities and look after ourselves.