Not All Suffering is Sickness

I read a BBC article, Life Being Stressful Is Not an Illness. (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2pvxdn9v4o). It illustrated a belief by UK medical doctors (general practitioners) that their society tends to over-medicalize and pathologize normal life stresses. They make the point that not all suffering is sickness, and people should summon their resiliency skills to cope with normal life problems. 

I’ll agree that intense emotion does not always warrant a clinical diagnosis. Consider grief, for example. The intense sadness and disruption following the death of a loved one is a natural and expected human reaction. The intensity may be frightening, but intensity alone does not make grief a mental illness. Or consider stress. Feeling anxious or overwhelmed in response to significant life changes is normal. And it is appropriate to feel sadness in response to failure, losing a job, relationship breakups, or financial strain. The line between anxiety, depression, and normal unhappiness may be blurry. 

What’s the harm in exaggerating normal distress into a mental illness? We may look outside ourselves for quick fixes rather than rely on our own coping mechanisms. And sometimes we need to change the underlying social, relationship, or existential cause of our distress. We’ll feel better after the situation is alleviated. 

But the field of mental illness is far more complex than situationally created adjustment disorders. These complex conditions require professional intervention. When doing a mental health evaluation, we look at a number of factors. Is it situational or internal? Is the condition mild, moderate, or severe? Is it acute or chronic? Does it warrant medication? Does it require immediate crisis stabilization and possible hospitalization? 

Psychiatrist.com published a white paper reporting that, in the United States, the share of patients with mental health diagnoses rose nearly 40 percent between 2019 and 2023. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Growing public acceptance and awareness encourage more people to seek help who previously might have suffered in silence. Conditions are being detected earlier and more accurately than in the past. 

The UK doctors are concerned about how hard it is to get help for patients with mental health conditions, when warranted. Access to care is also a concern for the US. The most critical barrier is the lack of mental health professionals who live and practice in rural areas. 

The single most promising strategy to address the access gap is the expansion of telehealth (counseling and psychiatry). Numerous studies have shown that virtual health services are comparable in effectiveness to in-person care for a wide range of conditions. 

You don’t need a severe mental illness to engage in counseling. You may benefit from just talking about life upsets. Your employer may even provide easy access to counselors and coaches for those situations. Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) exist to provide early, accessible, and confidential intervention for everyday “life upsets”, aiming to resolve them before they develop into severe mental illnesses or significantly impact work performance.

Don’t let finances stand in your way of seeking help if you need it. Fortunately, Jo Daviess County is seeing a rise in the number of mental health and substance abuse treatment providers. Some local counselors offer treatment on a sliding scale or reduced fee basis if you lack insurance. 

Ultimately, while we must distinguish between the normal, yet painful, struggles of life and genuine mental illness, prioritizing professional help remains essential for all who are suffering.