Many will not go beyond the headline. It will probably be one of the least read articles this week. When people see “mental health”, they tend to move on.

Maybe it’s because when mental health is mentioned, many think of the extreme cases, and they would not want to hear about them. Perhaps they believe that mental health issues are only those that lead to individuals being locked up in institutions, under round-the-clock care. Or those that end up in a tragedy.

Those cases exist, but then there are many other situations which are much closer than you think. Few understand how widespread mental illness is, and that it comes in various shapes and sizes, and that everyone who is suffering needs help.

The person sitting next to you on a bus doesn’t show it, but they may be fighting demons too. The colleague who spends the day joking and trying to make everyone feel better is also facing challenges they think are insurmountable. That cousin who is always the first to organise a summer barbecue for the family may be someone who is suffering from depression.

It is said that one fourth of the adult population has suffered or is suffering from some form of mental illness. The number is probably bigger than that, because it is not always the case that people realise they need help and, even when they do, many do not seek the assistance they need. Some refuse to acknowledge that they require a professional shoulder to lean on.

All this makes it all the more important to speak about mental health. Because it’s all about making things better for people in difficulty, and saving lives too.

Stigma

Each time mental health is mentioned, the experts say that we should work harder to eliminate the stigma that surrounds this kind of illness.

People with other conditions, be it heart problems, cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes and a million other issues are not shunned as people with mental issues are.

Thankfully, we have moved forward in the past decades, and we must admit that there is a greater awareness about the kind of support that these people require. The fact that, today, we speak about it so openly means that, as a society, we view mental illness in a very different way than we did, say, 25 and 50 years ago.

This is all good, because it means that there is a better recognition that mental illness needs to be treated like any other physical ailment, small or big. It means that we have come to understand more that, just like any other condition, it will probably get worse unless it is seen to.

Of course, there is a long way to go. We know we must do more and need to do more. Sometimes we forget that, behind each story, there is a human being and their family. People are not just numbers; they are persons with feelings, with a life to cherish with their loved ones, and it is always sad when society realises that it has messed up.

Then, when something like the death of Nicholas Camilleri happens, the regrets are bigger.

Nicholas Camilleri

Nicholas Camilleri, a husband, a father, a worker, a person like all of us, went missing and was found dead a few days later.

When his family told his story, it was one that shocked many. He had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and was doing well for 15 years with the treatment he was being given. But a key part of this was stopped, according to his family, and this led to a relapse.

“A man died.  He died because the system failed him,” the Richmond Foundation said in a strongly-worded statement soon after his death. “He was a vulnerable member of our society. He died because his and his family’s voices were not heard. He died because those who loved him were not allowed to get the answers they sought, to contribute their perspective of the situation. He died because he was just another case, another number, another statistic.”

“This is the pandemic no one talks about – people's poor mental health due to a plethora of stressful life situations has led to an unrelenting demand for help,” the foundation added.  “Yet, saying the sector is severely underfunded doesn't even begin to explain how grave the situation is, just when people are struggling the most they have been in decades.”

“We support people throughout their life journey to avoid something like this from happening, because no one should ever lose their life because they are carrying the burden of mental illness.” 

It says it all. No need to add anything else.

Looking ahead

Will things change? Will they get better? We all hope they do. Camilleri’s death would have been in vain unless we take lessons from it. And let’s not push mental health to the back burner again until another story like Camilleri’s comes up.

That is one reason why, as former Nationalist MP Mario Galea suggested, there should be an investigation into the situation “to learn what could have been done differently”. We need to understand what went wrong in the hope that what happened to Camilleri and his family will not be repeated.

Galea, who has been open about his own mental issues, has been saying for years that mental illness and suicide must be taken seriously.

“In Malta, more people die by suicide than by murder. Suicide and mental health should not be used as a political football. We must work together to help those who are suffering from mental health problems and those who are at risk of suicide.” 

Yes, in Malta more people die by suicide than by murder. And anyone who had been close to someone who took their own life will never get over the fact that they were unable to prevent it.

Social media

The social media does not help.

For one thing, it has created another form of addiction, that of people – thousands of them – who are stuck to their mobile phone at every hour of every day. It is not a healthy dependency, at all.

Secondly, it serves as a platform which, intentionally or unintentionally, leads to those negative feelings some people would normally want to avoid.

Couples who break up, for example, are keen to show “the other one” that they have a new life, perhaps with a new partner, and those individuals who are not over a relationship are hurt. In the past, it was more difficult for two persons who end a rapport to get to know what the other is doing. But, today, when relationships end the social media provides opportunities for individuals to “follow” what the former partner is doing – if this partner is present on social media. In many cases, he or she is.

This is just one example of how social media can affect one’s mental health. There are many others. Social media was created to bring people together, but in many cases it is serving to break them apart and in more ways than one create unhealthy situations.

Those around us

Mental issues could take root from any kind of situation.

Any psychiatrist will tell you that the most important thing is never to under-estimate any signs that things are going sideways.

When people pass comments that they want to harm themselves, it’s not because they want to (only) seek attention. They should not be dismissed as an attempt at self-pity. Unless we’re careful, and unless these signs are picked up, they could easily be transformed into a tragedy.

Kindness is the best possible way with which to deal with someone in difficulty. A word of hope and praise could go a long way to brighten someone else’s day. Conversely, snide remarks could throw someone already in difficulty into a deeper abyss.

When someone is down, do not kick them.