The internet is an incredible resource, obviously. When it comes to health advice, however, the misinformation it contains probably outweighs the genuinely helpful. If it isn’t Gwyneth advising us to steam our vaginas, it’s Insta gurus claiming celery juice can cure disease.
When deciphering mental health information , the snake oil is harder to spot. Mental illness happens within the confines of the mind: its symptoms are largely invisible to the naked eye, meaning if I want to claim smearing my face with lard and having it licked off by lizards twice a week cured my depression, it would be harder to challenge me.
More problematic still are the evangelical advocates of ‘positive thinking’, exercise and other activities it’s largely impossible to engage in while suffocating under the heavy blanket of chronic mental health issues. I’m not at all saying these techniques aren’t helpful; in fact, independent studies have found exercise is as effective for treating mild to moderate symptoms of depression as either medication or therapy. As part of ongoing self-care and to improve mental fitness, or alongside other strategies as part of a comprehensive recovery plan, they can be an excellent catalyst. The problem arises when these kinds of techniques are presented as a cure-all for existing mental illnesses. It shows an absolute ignorance of the reality of living with these types of conditions.
And so, I found myself thinking about ‘gratitude’. I was recently sent an Instagram post in which it was claimed ‘experiencing gratitude’ causes our bodies to ‘naturally produce DHEA’, a hormone that counteracts the stress chemical cortisol. Therefore, it claimed in an enormous leap, ‘GRATITUDE IS THE CURE FOR STRESS’.
This is far from an isolated example of the extolling of perceived benefits of gratitude. Self-help books often recommend keeping a ‘blessings diary’, which you are then encouraged to refer back to whenever you need to be reminded of how objectively brilliant your life is.
The issue is, of course, that depression and anxiety are equal opportunity in terms of who they strike. They don’t just affect those who have nothing to be thankful for. The Duke of Sussex recently opened up about his own mental health battles and he is an actual prince.
The issue is, of course, that depression and anxiety are equal opportunity in terms of who they strike. They don’t just affect those who have nothing to be thankful for
Furthermore, the notion that we aren’t entitled to feel however we do because we’re so incredibly #blessed is stigma encapsulated. It’s just another way of saying ‘what do you have to feel sad or stressed about?’. That isn’t just what a person experiencing mental illness is likely to hear from their family, friends and co-workers; there will also probably be a voice inside them saying that, too. The net result will be guilt and shame, perhaps resulting in them waiting longer to seek help, increasing the severity and diminishing the manageability of their illness.
Like most of the ideas appropriated by the wellness industry, ‘gratitude’ has its roots in radically different cultures, where it works better because it’s practised in a different environmental context. Rather than trying to hammer a square peg into a Western-shaped hole, I’d suggest a better solution to stress is actually the opposite of a gratitude diary – write your problems down.
List everything that’s causing you stress or anxiety, no matter how silly or insignificant they may seem. Divide your problems into three categories – those you have the power to solve, those you don’t and those which are surmountable but require another person’s help. For the third list, note down who you have in your network who might be able to assist you, or introduce you to someone who can.
Ta da! An emotional to-do list, divided helpfully into manageable chunks. Professor Steve Peters, who wrote the internationally best-selling book The Chimp Paradox calls this ‘boxing your chimp’ and it’s been proven to calm your amygdala, the primitive part of your brain responsible for secreting the chemicals that cause anxiety and stress (a long-term imbalance of which can lead to developing depression). I won’t make like an influencer and claim the technique above ‘cures stress’, but hopefully it’s a useful exercise you can feel #grateful for.
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