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30 Jan 2024

Unpopular opinion: negative narratives in mental health

Alan Johnson gives his take on the impact of shifting attitudes towards conversations on well-being.

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Alan Johnson

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Unpopular opinion: negative narratives in mental health

Image © Vladimir Ivankin / Adobe Stock

Image © Vladimir Ivankin / Adobe Stock

In recent years, the conversation surrounding mental health has taken a dramatic shift towards openness and awareness. This change has been crucial in de-stigmatising mental health issues and encouraging individuals to seek help.

However, I would like to lay out what is likely to be a controversial opinion on the effects of this change.

The emerging narrative in the media, but specifically within the veterinary profession, suggests that everyone – without exception – struggles with mental health issues, and this blanket statement is often verbalised without much thought. While well-intentioned, I believe this narrative could inadvertently be contributing to the major problems within the profession.

In this article, I will explore the impact of such narratives on mental health, and how negative reinforcement and self-perception can shape our well-being.

Influence of narrative

The human brain is wired to respond to stories and narratives, and over millennia, they have shaped our understanding of the world and our place within it.

When the prevailing story is one of universal struggle with mental health and stress, I believe it creates a self-fulfilling prophecy within the profession. Research in various fields, from psychology to education, has shown that expectations can significantly influence outcomes.

For instance, the ”Pygmalion effect”, also known as the “Rosenthal effect”, is a psychological phenomenon wherein high expectations lead to improved performance in each area. Within one of Rosenthal’s studies, teachers were given the names of students who were expected to perform exceptionally well in the upcoming year. These students were chosen at random, with no actual evidence to suggest they were high achievers. However, by the end of the study, these randomly selected students showed significant academic improvement. The teachers’ beliefs about the students’ potential had, unconsciously, been communicated through their behaviour, which, in turn, positively affected the students’ performance.

The opposite of this effect, for all The Lord of The Rings fans out there, is the Golem effect, which suggests that low expectations can lead to a decrease in performance.

If those in charge of mentoring the younger vets within the profession hold the belief that new graduates are unable to handle stress and have poor mental health, they may unknowingly contribute to that very outcome through a series of behaviours and decisions that reflect their low expectations. One remedy to this issue would be to try to convince the mentors that not all recent graduates feel this way; however, if the narrative exists within the profession, our human brain will invariably be hard-wired to a default belief that new vets are unable to handle stress and have poor mental health.

Through the Pygmalion effect, this alone could result in the vets of the future being stressed and having poor mental health.

‘Luck’ factor

An intriguing aspect of self-perception is the concept of luck. Research by psychologist Richard Wiseman found that people who consider themselves lucky are more likely to experience good fortune. This is not due to some mystical force, but rather because these individuals are more open to opportunities and more likely to take risks. The belief in their own luck creates a positive feedback loop that enhances their quality of life. Similarly, in mental health, if the narrative emphasises universal struggle, this could lead individuals to view their experiences through a lens of difficulty, regardless of their actual mental state.

However, if we believe that we are capable of maintaining good mental health, we may be more proactive in caring for our well-being and more resilient in the face of challenges and adversity. This belief is almost impossible to form when every media outlet and social media post is telling us that we all struggle with mental health; that it is “normal” to experience mental health issues.

While I consider myself to be very fortunate and have exceptional mental health, I have been genuinely left wondering if there is something wrong with me for not having a mental health problem.

Now, if this was applied to someone who may already be struggling, it becomes very easy to fall into a pit of self-despair that becomes a vicious positive feedback loop, where you have a mental health problem, because you believe you must have one.

It is crucial to acknowledge that mental health is deeply personal and varies greatly from one individual to another. However, the “everyone struggles” concept fails to recognise the spectrum of mental health experiences. Some people may indeed face significant challenges, while others navigate life with minimal issues. By promoting a one-size-fits-all narrative, we risk minimising the experiences of those who genuinely struggle and potentially overwhelming those who might otherwise have coped effectively.

Conclusion

The way we talk about mental health matters. While it is essential to support those who struggle with mental health issues, I believe it is equally, if not more important, to foster a narrative that recognises the strength and resilience many individuals exhibit.

By emphasising positive self-perception and the power of positive narratives, we can encourage a more nuanced and empowering conversation about mental health.

I believe we should try to mould the idea of what it looks like to be a healthy and not constantly overwhelmed veterinary surgeon in the 21st century. We need role models who exhibit the characteristics of resilience, stress management and time management, and learn from them about how they approach the day – not only from a mental model, but even something as simple as how they manage their time.

If we can still provide the support the profession offers, but start generating vets who do not believe from the second they leave vet school that they are doomed to be stressed and struggle daily, we may turn the tide on burnout, through positive mental framing. This approach not only respects the individuality of each person’s experience, but also promotes a culture of hope and possibility, which is, after all, a cornerstone of psychological well-being.

I welcome comments and thoughts from anyone who reads this, be they positive or negative. We need to open the door to healthy, open discussion on mental health.

It seems to have become taboo to mention that perhaps the constant bombardment of mental health as something we need to think about every second of every day is not a healthy one, not only for our profession, but society as a whole.