Basil Jarrett | Stress and suicide narratives fuelling mental health stigma

LAST WEEK’S World Suicide Prevention Day seminar at the Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston, sparked two newspaper articles which have made me somewhat uncomfortable with the ongoing conversation around mental health.

In the first piece, ‘Psychiatrist calls for shift in mental health narratives’, Dr Peta-Gaye Reynolds urged Jamaicans to challenge inappropriate labels placed on individuals with suicidal thoughts. The following day, Dr Roger Ball, a social work administrator and lecturer on trauma intervention and suicide prevention, asserted that people should “show up” for those who have experienced trauma and struggled with suicidal thoughts. Both articles made me a bit uneasy for a number of reasons.

For starters, let me ask a simple question. Whenever you think about or hear the words ‘mental health’, what immediately comes to mind? Be honest. For many, it conjures up images of stress, suicide, and spectacular psychological breakdowns. It’s as if mental health is automatically linked to someone on the verge of a crisis, just one step away from stepping into the abyss.

And that’s a huge part of the reason, I believe, why Jamaicans have such a negative reaction to the issue of mental health. In the process of promoting awareness, we may have inadvertently added to the stigma surrounding mental health due to our heavy focus on stress management and suicide prevention. In other words, we have made mental health synonymous with suicide and self-destruction.

MORE TO MENTAL HEALTH

But mental health is far more complex than just these extreme cases. There is a whole lexicon of mental health conditions – anxiety, depression, personality disorders, and attachment issues – that are far less visible but equally important and damaging. And yet, because they aren’t as ‘spectacular’ as a suicide attempt, they often go ignored. As someone who is becoming more and more fascinated with psychology and psychological disorders, I believe that it is critical that we change this narrative, if we are going to be able to have healthy conversations around mental health.

In both Dr Reynolds’ and Dr Ball’s presentations at the World Suicide Prevention Day seminar last week, they emphasised the need to shift how we discuss mental health, and I couldn’t agree more. Where I respectfully depart, however, is that while addressing suicidal tendencies is crucial, focusing exclusively on this aspect of mental health paints an incomplete and often frightening picture of mental health, which, in turn, fuels the very stigma we seek to dismantle.

We should therefore broaden the conversation by educating people, especially our youth, on the wide range of mental health challenges that exist, especially those that don’t involve suicidal tendencies. It’s time to stop treating mental health as a panic button and start viewing it as part of everyday life, just like physical health and wellness. This shift is imperative.

THE IMPACT OF NARROW NARRATIVES

Whenever the topic of mental health comes up, it’s usually in the context of someone being suicidal or suffering a mental breakdown. Media reports, public seminars, and even well-meaning public health campaigns often focus on these extreme cases. But while these campaigns aim to create awareness, they also contribute to a narrative that if someone is struggling with mental health, they must be on the brink of self-destruction. In Dr Reynolds’ seminar, she pointed out how this narrow focus exacerbates public stigma and casts mental health issues as something to be feared or judged.

This association then discourages people from seeking help because they’re afraid of being labelled ‘crazy’ or ‘weak’ or ‘him head chip’. And let’s not even talk about the workplace, where asking the boss for a mental health day may result in all sharp objects being removed from your desk.

In a culture like Jamaica’s, where strength and toughness are prized, this stigma becomes a significant barrier to care, as persons hesitate to speak openly about their anxiety, depression, or any other disorder, for fear of being judged or ostracised. We need to change the narrative by reminding people that mental health is not just about avoiding breakdowns; it’s about thriving, coping, and learning to manage the ups and downs of life.

THE SPECTRUM OF MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS

One of the problems with our current approach is that it doesn’t account for the full spectrum of mental health conditions. Yes, suicidal thoughts and actions are serious and warrant immediate attention. But what about personality disorders? Attachment anxiety? Chronic stress? Covert narcissism? These are all part of the mental health landscape that don’t get the attention they deserve, despite causing grave distress.

Look, for example, at attachment anxiety, a condition where individuals develop an overwhelming fear of being abandoned or rejected. They’re not suicidal, but their condition significantly impacts their personal relationships and quality of life. They are perfectly normal and functional on the outside, but their mental health issues affect them in ways that are not always visible.

Then there are those with personality disorders. These people may not be standing on the edge of a building, but they are struggling with patterns of thinking and behaviour that impair their ability to function in society. Are they any less deserving of our attention and care simply because their challenges don’t culminate in a suicide attempt? Exactly.

The reality is, mental health issues manifest in different ways. And by continually linking mental health with self-destruction, we miss the opportunity to address these ‘invisible’ disorders that are also taking a toll on individuals and families.

THE IMPORTANCE OF EARLY EDUCATION

So, what’s the solution? How do we begin to shift the narrative on mental health in Jamaica? The answer, I believe, lies in education. We need to start teaching mental health in schools, and we need to do it earlier. Children need to learn about mental health just as they do physical health.

This means incorporating mental health education into the curriculum at an early age, so that children grow up understanding that mental health is something everyone has and needs to be taken care of. This will help to normalise these conditions, so that they can seek support when needed. More importantly, we will begin to create a society where mental health challenges are not signs of weakness or moral failings, but part of the human experience.

Major Basil Jarrett is a communications strategist and CEO of Artemis Consulting, a communications consulting firm specialising in crisis communications and reputation management. Visit him at www.thecrisismajor.com or send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.