Isabella Goldie: It's time to get serious over mental health

Published on Thursday 16 April 2009 09:00

'WE have nothing to fear but fear itself.' So said Franklin Roosevelt in the middle of the Great Depression of the 1930s. Now, with another economic storm raging, we might need some similar advice.

At the Mental Health Foundation, we've discovered that most people in the UK say the world has become a more frightening place recently. More than a third say they feel more frightened than they used to. Our report, In the Face of Fear, found that worries about the economic crisis topped a list of what makes people anxious.

Actually, Roosevelt was only half right. We shouldn't fear any of our emotions. We need them, fear included. But our emotions are powerful forces and we need them working for us, not against us. Fear, in particular, has a profound effect, triggering the "fight or flight" response.

In modern communications, our fear response is triggered by threats that we feel unable to respond to. Public debate is framed in terms of the worst case scenario, whether discussing bird flu or cyber-security.

For some, fear can take the form of an anxiety disorder, but fear and anxiety can have an impact whether or not you've been diagnosed with a mental health problem. They are linked to other health problems such as coronary heart disease and depression. Anxiety is also associated with unhealthy lifestyle choices such as smoking and drinking too much.

If we're going to make our society a less fearful and healthier place, we need to get serious about our mental health. Modern life poses just as many challenges to our mental health as is does our physical health, yet just a fraction of the resources is devoted to emotional wellbeing.

Compared with the rest of Europe, Scotland has been good at recognising the importance of mental health. Following the success of a previous mental health scheme, let's hope that this trend continues and we can all be supported to manage our fear and anxiety better in future.

Isabella Goldie is head of Mental Health Programmes Scotland for The Mental Health Foundation