Despite the link between mental and physical health, the importance of mental health is still being overlooked and, unfortunately, mental illness is still often seen as a taboo subject.
One day, I was interviewed by a young Korean man. I was telling him that one of the reasons why I established the Happiness Research Institute was that a good friend of mine died suddenly at the age of forty-nine and, as my own mother had died at the same age, it was a wake-up call. If you are only going to live until you are forty-nine, what are you going to spend those years doing? I thought to myself. Stay in my then job, which I was not really excited about – or start something which may be risky but may also be really awesome?
At this point, the young man shared with me that his mother had also died when she was forty-nine. She had died from depression. South Korea has the highest suicide rate in the OECD, and a high incidence of depression. Depression is a disease, but it is treatable. Sadly, there is a lot of social stigma around mental illness in Korea – as in many other countries – which results in a lack of treatment, sometimes with disastrous consequences.
Out of the twenty-eight OECD countries, South Korea ranks twenty-seventh when it comes to the consumption of antidepressants; Denmark ranks seventh. Does this mean that Danes are more depressed than the Koreans? No, it just means they are getting some sort of treatment. Whether medication is the right sort of treatment is up for discussion, but it is a good thing to be a society in which treatment for mental illness is available and affordable (subsidized by the government) and in which the stigma around mental illness has been reduced sufficiently that people feel able to seek treatment.
To fight the stigma that surrounds mental illness, we need to listen more and learn more. We need to end the misunderstanding and the prejudice. We need to end whispering about mental illnesses behind closed doors. We need to say the scary words out loud, so they lose their power, and so no one has to struggle on in silence.
We should salute those who are working against the idea that mental illness is something that should be covered up. A couple of years ago, a number of Danish writers, models and movie directors participated in a series on national television about the mental illnesses they had been dealing with. More recently, Prince Harry has been open about the challenges he has faced. He said he had been ‘very close to a complete breakdown on numerous occasions’ and is now encouraging more people to reach out to others in times of need and to normalize conversation about mental health. ‘The experience I have had is that, once you start talking about it, you realize that actually you’re part of quite a big club,’ he said to the Telegraph in April 2017.
It is because of actions like this that the UK and Denmark rank first and third when it comes to reducing stigma and increasing awareness, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Mental Integration Index. It is time for every society to become much more open about mental illness, just as it is about other illnesses. So, let me just add my two cents and tell you that my mother also suffered from depression. There is no reason not to be open about that. The silver lining for South Korea here is that the young man who lost his mother to depression is now heading the Stella Foundation, which aims to create awareness and openness about depression in South Korea. He gave me a frame that holds three Korean masks, as a symbol of the fight against the masks we hide behind. The frame now stands next to my desk in my office at home.
HAPPINESS TIP:
START TALKING ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH
Next time you ask someone how they are doing, have a real interest in their answer, and do not accept ‘fine’.
According to the Mental Health Foundation in the UK, nearly half of adults in the country believe that, in their lifetime, they have had a diagnosable mental health problem, yet only a third have received a diagnosis; and every week, one in six adults experiences symptoms of a common mental health problem, such as anxiety or depression. Don’t be afraid to ask friends, family members or colleagues the question ‘But how are you really doing?’ And don’t accept a one-word answer. On mentalhealth.gov (you’ll find it under the US Department of Health and Human Services), there is a lot of advice if you need to start a conversation with a friend or family member about mental health. It suggests ways to bring the subject up, such as ‘I’ve been worried about you. Can we talk about what you are experiencing? If not, who are you comfortable talking to? It seems like you are going through a difficult time. How can I help you to find help?’ Or ‘I am someone who cares and wants to listen. What do you want me to know about how you are feeling?’
HEALTH
Commuting as exercise
Copenhagen: In Copenhagen, 45 per cent of all commutes for work or education are by bike. This is part of the reason why Danes get more exercise than most people, and without hitting the gym. Read more on this page.
Ciclovía
Bogotá, Columbia: Every Sunday, more than a hundred kilometres of streets are closed to motor vehicles and converted to walkable, bikeable and playable areas. More than a million make use of this opportunity. Read more on this page.
Shinrin-yoku
Japan: ‘Forest bathing’ refers to soaking up the sights, smells and sounds of a natural setting to promote physiological and psychological health. Read more on this page.
Brain brushing
Bhutan: Students and teachers start and finish their day with a silent moment doing a short mindfulness exercise to improve their well-being and academic performance. Read more on this page.
Reducing the stigma of mental illness
UK: The UK gets top ranking in reducing the stigma associated with and increasing awareness of mental illness, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Mental Integration Index. There is still a long way to go in all countries, but the recent campaign launched by the royal family to recruit celebrities and other individuals to make videos discussing depression or anxiety is a step in the right direction. Read more on this page.
The scenic route
US: Researchers from Yahoo! Labs have developed an algorithm that calculates the most pleasant and enjoyable route from your location to your destination. As an example, the fastest route from the home of Paul Revere to the state capital in Boston will take you through car-lined streets. Adding just two minutes of travel time, you can instead walk through quieter areas and enjoy famous city landmarks.
Sports candy
Reykjavik, Iceland: The TV show Lazy Town uses an athletic protagonist who lives on a diet consisting of fruits and vegetables to encourage the children to take part in physical activities outdoors and to eat healthily. The hero is contrasted with the show’s lazy, junk-food-eating villain and antagonist. In cooperation with a major supermarket chain in Iceland, fruit and vegetables were branded as ‘sports candy’ (as in the TV show), and this resulted in a 22 per cent increase in sales of fruit and vegetables.
FREEDOM
Let me ask you one question: ‘Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with your freedom to choose what you do with your life?’ What is certain is that having the freedom to choose what we do with our lives – feeling that we are the captain of our destiny – is linked to happiness.
‘No people can be truly happy if they do not feel that they are choosing the course of their own life,’ states the World Happiness Report 2012 – and it also finds that having this freedom of choice is one of the six factors that explain why some people are happier than others.