Speech Mental Health
Today I am going to be talking to you about a huge problem within the world, which affects the rich, the poor, the old and the young; day in and day out. A problem that can strike anyone down, at anytime. And a problem that blights millions of lives all around the world. Of course I am talking about Mental Health, with a wide range of people suffering from the likes of people living with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder to those fighting bouts of depression and panic attacks.
Now, you would think a widespread and important problem like this would be something we would all talk about. That it would be top of the political agenda and that every leading politician would be obliged to address to it. That we would be falling over each other, as we do, to prove that we had a solution. Yet this idealistic scenario does not exist... As for far too long leading politicians have maintained an almost complete silence about mental health, with it only tending to come up in conversation in emergency situations.
It is a taboo running across our society which infects both our culture and our politics. This is because it has just as strong economic impacts as social because it puts severe strains on the funding of the NHS and threatens Britain’s ability to pay our way in the world.
Mental health is subject we all, whoever we are, still instinctively avoid. At home, in the workplace and in our communities, it tends to be brushed under the carpet. Teachers and our parents are unlikely to talk to us about mental illness when we are young. And we all fear the unknown. Today in 2014, far too many people in this country still feel as if they have to pretend they have something else wrong with them when they are struggling with depression. People can be scared to tell their friends, colleagues and GP. As they are intimidated by the culture that still surrounds mental illness, forcing them to be scared into silence.
Mental health can affect anyone, but it is often more openly talked
Now, you would think a widespread and important problem like this would be something we would all talk about. That it would be top of the political agenda and that every leading politician would be obliged to address to it. That we would be falling over each other, as we do, to prove that we had a solution. Yet this idealistic scenario does not exist... As for far too long leading politicians have maintained an almost complete silence about mental health, with it only tending to come up in conversation in emergency situations.
It is a taboo running across our society which infects both our culture and our politics. This is because it has just as strong economic impacts as social because it puts severe strains on the funding of the NHS and threatens Britain’s ability to pay our way in the world.
Mental health is subject we all, whoever we are, still instinctively avoid. At home, in the workplace and in our communities, it tends to be brushed under the carpet. Teachers and our parents are unlikely to talk to us about mental illness when we are young. And we all fear the unknown. Today in 2014, far too many people in this country still feel as if they have to pretend they have something else wrong with them when they are struggling with depression. People can be scared to tell their friends, colleagues and GP. As they are intimidated by the culture that still surrounds mental illness, forcing them to be scared into silence.
Mental health can affect anyone, but it is often more openly talked