Should we drop the distinction between mental and physical health?

Tori_Scope

I recently read this article on The Guardian, which poses the question of whether we should drop the distinction between mental and physical health.

What do you think?

woodbine

I would agree that ill health is ill health be it physical or mental and there should be no distincton.

Carlos55

As individuals with mental health issues, we are continually in judgement, and our physical is also under scrutiny. Then we begin to withdraw and experience debilitating symptoms…anxiety and depression. The distinction is apparent only to those who suffer…only those who are policymakers can make changes and adjust the direction and bias. A sense of diversity is required to change a viewpoint.

leeCal

Physical illness can cause mental illness and vice versa, so both are important. The problem is that mental illness unless severe is invisible and so can be underrated and overlooked to some degree by others. There is a pervasive idea that with the right ways of thinking mental illness can be mitigated or even avoided entirely. In my opinion this is only true of mild and transient conditions. However, again in my opinion, most people are unaware of methods of right thinking and with services stretched and sometimes elusive this situation remains to some extent unchecked, though education on such matters is improving for the young. 

Cartini

woodbine said:

I would agree that ill health is ill health be it physical or mental and there should be no distincton.

Hi Woodbine,

On face value I agree with your comment, ill health is ill health regardless of whether you have dark thoughts or walking difficulties. 

The problem arises when there is a need for medical intervention; a GP is capable of diagnosing & treating ill health, in the generalised term, but a more serious condition needs the attention of a specialist in that field. 

Admittedly a GP will need to be seen to refer a patient to a specialist, but they aren`t qualified for anything other than "General Practitioning", that`s why they are called GPs (and I don`t mean that in a derogatory way to a section of society who spend years in education so they can dedicate their lives to helping others).

I said on face value I agree, I do - but in reality (in my mind) there has to be a distinction between those with physical challenges and those with mind challenges (I find the expression "mental problems" quite cold / unfeeling) due to the differing paths of treatment and care they need.

I am more than happy to be educated on this point because I`m "speaking" as someone who has physical, and not mind, challenges.

Andy

woodbine

As my late mother-in-law used to say, a GP knows a little about a lot, whilst a specialist knows a lot about a little.

SueHeath

I have liked both @leeCal and @Cartini as a person with physical disabilities and through joining this forum i have thought about people with mental disabilities a lot. I have only experienced things like pip etc during this last 12 months, when my own health became more of an issue to me. I often think how do people with certain mental issues prove how it affects their life, can be easier for medics/gp's even people of the public to see physical problems, were as i have seen people stare and even laugh at some people with mental problems and this offends me, more so since i have joined scope. Even filling out the form for pip, i was thinking how hard it would be for some people to prove how things effect them in their daily life. I hope this has made sense.

daresbury1978

I was impressed by the Guardian article and the comments from SCOPE online community members. The article is well set out and its case well supported. The ideas "joined-up" medical services plus the importance of an "holistic" approach are sound. The definitional divisions reflect historic assumptions about human needs in social contexts heavily influenced by moral and social cost considerations. As with so many things the divisions also reflect power differentiations. The Cambridge Hospital initiative mentioned sounds very encouraging. The academic Professor Carl Popper conjured up "falsification theory" and in my view that applies in this case. My father experienced severe depression and ended up as a secure patient in a mental hospital. His experiences in the first world war seemed to have been a significant cause. But he also suffered extremely painful physical symptoms. Is there an "existential" aspect to all of this?

Cartini

SueHeath said:

I have liked both @leeCal and @Cartini as a person with physical disabilities and through joining this forum i have thought about people with mental disabilities a lot. I have only experienced things like pip etc during this last 12 months, when my own health became more of an issue to me. I often think how do people with certain mental issues prove how it affects their life, can be easier for medics/gp's even people of the public to see physical problems, were as i have seen people stare and even laugh at some people with mental problems and this offends me, more so since i have joined scope. Even filling out the form for pip, i was thinking how hard it would be for some people to prove how things effect them in their daily life. I hope this has made sense.

It made sense to me SueHeath.

I have a lady friend and we have a platonic relationship in the true meaning of the word; we love each other, but we aren`t physical or dating.  Unfortunately, she suffers with anxiety; I`m now ashamed to say I used to get irritated, impatient, annoyed.......... any number of words could cover my feelings when she was anxious over something as simple as the TV remote control not working.

I joined this forum in April, here I am 6 months or so later and I have a little more knowledge about mind health which leads to me having the ability to offer help where I couldn`t before.

Cartini

Charlie1973 said:

I think that mental and physical health can be very much interrelated.  So one can impact upon the other.  There has always seemed to be a sigma around mental health issues and they are very much ‘lumped together’, when in fact they are a diverse range of issues.   Healthcare should be ‘holistic’ and treat the whole person rather than isolated as if we are machines with different parts working independently of each other.  I am sure stress etc. causes different chemical reactions in our bodies which can impact upon our physical health. 

Hi Charlie1973,

I agree healthcare should be holistic and, to a certain degree it is and has to be. But there also has to be a reductionist side to health care because one glove doesn`t fit all. 

You are right with respect to mind health (I don`t like the expression mental health, it sounds cold and unfeeling) in that those who don`t know, or understand, lump them all as one condition.  I, thankfully, don`t have mind issues (to my knowledge) and until I joined this forum, I had the same view.

Now I know there are a multitude of reasons for someone suffering with mind problems, I have a different view.