STAYING connected online through various social media platforms is now an everyday part of our lives. Our friends at Heartwood considers their impact on our mental health
STAYING connected online through various social media platforms is now an everyday part of our lives. It is a great way to stay in touch with family and friends, find new friends, network with others and promote businesses and worthwhile causes – and as most of us have a Smartphone, it has never been easier.
There are also more negative undertones surrounding our no holds barred access to people’s everyday lives. It can promote feelings of inadequacy – often, what we view on social media is not a true representation of real life and images can be easily edited and manipulated to appear “perfect”. Although most of us are aware of this, it doesn’t always dampen the feeling of dissatisfaction at our own lot.
Another prevalent online issue is cyber bullying and unfortunately most young people will see or experience this at some time – a recent survey by BullyingUK found that 56% of young people said they have seen others being bullied online. We have seen the tragic consequences this can carry on the news and the heartbreak it leaves in its wake.
e need face-to-face contact to support our mental health and well being, this kind of interaction with someone close to us is mood boosting and substituting this important socialising with an online quick fix can worsen mood disorders such as anxiety and depression.
It seems ironic, then, that we are also using our Smartphones to access support – there is thought to be more than 10,000 mental health-related apps available. Such is the popularity of these apps and their perceived ability to help those suffering from mental health issues, the NHS now has its own ‘Apps Library’, where users can find ‘digital tools to help you manage and improve your health’ under a number of categories, including improving mental health. The NHS assesses apps and only publishes details of those it considers to be safe and secure.
According to statistics cited by the charity Mental Health Foundation, in England, early interventions and home treatment for mental health problems can reduce hospital admissions, shorten hospital stays and require fewer high-cost intensive interventions.
Many apps and online self-help courses promote or incorporate ‘mindfulness’ or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) techniques. However, recent research highlights that we should be wary of the apps we come across, as ‘although many are highly rated by users, few are evidence-based’.
Campaigns combating taboo
The number of campaigns by charities and organisations gives us some clue as to the relatively recent rise of people from all walks of life and backgrounds sharing their experiences of battling mental ill-health.
Recent examples include LADBible Group and MIND’s re-launched ‘UOKM8?’ campaign. This awardwinning drive was originally launched in 2016 to raise mass awareness and destigmatise mental health. It was said to have reached over 35-million people.
A spokesperson for the LADBible Group said their initial focus was ‘to change the behaviour of those who do not feel comfortable talking about their mental health’ – with content for the campaign going out across social media channels.
A separate campaign, Time to Change, has been described as ‘England’s most ambitious campaign’. It launched more than a decade ago to reduce mental health stigma and discrimination.
The campaign’s research in the past has found mental health remains ‘one of the last taboos in the workplace’ – with Brits rather talking with colleagues about relationship issues, money problems and even sex, than mental health. Time to Change urges people to ‘ask twice’, as it found 78% of us would tell friends and family we are ‘fine’, even if struggling with a mental health problem.
ITV have recently launched a new campaign – “Britain Get Talking’ to try and encourage people to open up and emphasise the importance of talking, and to shine a light on the benefits of having conversations about our mental health with those close to us.
Easily accessible apps and initiatives could be seen as welcome solutions in the ongoing battle of the taboo surrounding mental health, and while there is little evidence surrounding the use of apps, if users are feeling better after accessing these, then surely we can agree there is some merit in them purely based on that fact alone. Many of us have had to substitute face-to-face counselling with phone calls and online meetings out of necessity during the ongoing COVID restrictions. Are online services to be a prominent fixture in our lives and can they be a suitable replacement for face-toface therapy?
Sources:
www.jmir.org/2018/6/e10120
www.ladbible.com/uokm8
www.time-to-change.org.uk
www.bullying.co.uk/cyberbullying/what-iscyberbullying
www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/social-media-and-mental-health.htm
youngminds.org.uk at tinyurl.com/p9ar52h6
www.itv.com/britaingettalking
Heartwood Centre for Counselling and Psychotherapy Training are
based at Dartington Space, Dartington Hall, Totnes.
Visit www.heartwoodcounselling.org or call 01803 865464.