The papers are full of articles insidiously suggesting that people suffering from mental health problems are simply lazy and should get back out there to work. That's a bit like refusing someone dialysis because their kidneys are lazy!

As a parent, I find it desperately sad that so many children grow up lacking self confidence, a problem that will, for many, shape their whole lives.  It probably comes about because a certain combination of genes get switched on or off as a result of experiences in infancy.  If your parents lack confidence and self belief, then you're likely to as well.  Kids who lack self confidence through childhood are more likely to develop psychological health problems as adults.

With schools now forced to focus more on turning out standardised pupils programmed to pass government tests in order for the school to maintain its position in league tables, there seems to be less opportunity for indivdual students to flourish at what they're good at, what they're genuinely interested in - the very things which would increase their confidence through the adolescent years for instance when synaptic pruning is taking place, and the brain is physically changing as a direct result of what they're experiencing day to day.



Trying to resolve the problems that result in adulthood from a lack of self confidence is never an easy task.  Problems forming and maintaining relationships, difficulty managing moods and battles with anxiety and depression can make life miserable and a million miles from what our experience as an intelligent species on the planet could and should be.

Therapy can alleviate some of the problems - CBT teaches clients mechanisms for managing negative feelings and behaviours, Person Centred counselling allows clients to talk about powerful emotions with someone who will promote a sense of being valued as a person with their feelings being validated and Psychodynamic therapy offers the opportunity to explore childhood experiences and pain and loss throughout life in an attempt to gain insight into the deeper levels of our personality.  Understanding where problems are rooted and how behaviour patterns stem from unconscious drives and emotions, can make it easier to recognise when things are starting to slide in the future and help us make more positive conscious choices in life.

Therapy can be really beneficial, but for most people, therapy is quite a painful process to go through, in fact it's often said therapy only works when it does get to those corners of your mind where things have been locked away because they're too distressing to bear and quite often clients will attend intitial sessions and then suddenly stop because things have started to feel uncomfortable.



As a trained therapist, I know the value of these types of emotional support, but I don't believe they're the ultimate solution to a society in which more and more of us are at risk of suffering from stress, anxiety and depression due to changes in the traditional family structure and the massive increase of pressure we're forced to live with as adults. 

The most recent studies seem to suggest one in three of us now will experience a significant episode of psychological illness in our lives - that's a figure similar to our risk of developing cancer and it will need much more government committment and funding if we hope to ever tackle it successfully.  About 10% of the NHS budget is allocated to mental health problems, which is pitiful really when you consider that depression is actually the leading cause of disability in the UK.

You can't see depression like you can see someone has a physical disability so it's much easier for governments specifically and society generally to pretend it doesn't actually exist.  The papers are full of articles insidiously suggestioning that people suffering from mental health problems are simply lazy and should get back out there to work.  That's a bit like refusing someone dialysis because their kidneys are lazy!



Huge developments in neurology and genetics in recent years have revealed so much more about why our personalities develop as they do and all of it points to a crucial need to look after people's emotional wellbeing in the same way as we would all agree that people's physical health is important if you want to create a successful society where people enjoy fulfilling lives.

The sooner those in power find the courage to talk seriously about mental health, the better for all of us.