Capitalism is making us sick
On Monday 26th September, Just Treatment ran a workshop called ‘Capitalism is Making Us Sick: A Radical Response to the Youth Mental Health Crisis’ as part of The World Transformed 2022. The workshop brought together a fantastic panel of speakers with a room of around 60 participants to discuss what’s fuelling the youth mental health crisis across this country, and how we can organise those affected by the crisis to fight for an anti-capitalist approach to mental health. This is a brief report of some of the key themes and ideas explored in the session.
We were delighted to be joined by:
Dinah Tarjanyi - mental health service user and Just Treatment Patient Leader
Sai Murray - Healing Justice London & Strategic Advisor, Voices That Shake
Peter Kindermann - Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Liverpool
Barry Murray - Community Organiser with #123 GP Campaign and Participation and the Practice of Rights (PPR)
Jeana Malhi - Organiser with Green New Deal Rising and UK Youth Climate Coalition
The collective discussion focused on 2 core questions:
1) How do our experiences of mental health challenges link to the crisis of capitalism we’re living through?
2) What should be the demands and approach of an anti-capitalist patient-led movement for better mental health and care?
A key theme running throughout discussions was the importance of “repoliticising” mental health as something inherently connected to societal structures and material conditions. On the first question, the following key themes were raised:
Individualisation. We talked a lot about how the dominant narrative in our current health system and society is to view mental health as purely an inherent individual problem that requires medical solutions. In fact, so many people who experience mental health problems share a common set of experiences of living under capitalism that impact significantly on wellbeing - and we have to reckon with that.
Education system. We talked about how the current education system is so focused on competition and systems of control which have a hugely detrimental impact on young people’s mental health. The drive to punish kids who “misbehave” for example through isolation and exclusion is hugely damaging - and disproportionately impacts BAME working class communities.
Climate change. We talked about how there are giant energy and fossil fuel companies that are raking in unprecedented profits whilst the climate is destroyed and young people’s future becomes even more uncertain. This precarity and concern for the future of our world causes huge anxiety and instability for millions of young people.
Securitisation of mental health. We talked about how there is an increasing reliance on police to respond to patients experiencing mental health crisis, as well as a focus on restraint and control in the way patients are treated in mental health facilities. This approach is not rooted in a principle of care and healing, and can have very negative impacts, particularly for those who have experienced trauma in the past.
Narrative of “productivity”. We talked about how under a capitalist economy and society there is a relentless focus on the idea of “productivity” and that being the primary measure of people’s perceived success, particularly for younger generations. This narrative can leave people feeling like they have failed if they don’t fit a certain category which can in turn contribute to unhappiness and poor mental health.
Big tech. We talked about the dominance of giant tech corporations in particularly young people’s lives, and how corporate tech CEOs are making enormous profits whilst their platforms reinforce harmful narratives and trends that isolate young people and contribute to low self esteem, eating disorders, anxiety and other mental health problems.
Costs of living. We talked a lot about how material conditions such as wages, debt, housing and benefits can have a huge impact on people’s mental health. As the cost of living crisis rages on this will only get worse, and economic precarity is felt most sharply amongst younger generations.
Our Patient Leader Dinah shared her experiences of the barriers to accessing mental health care.
On the second question, some of the key demands and actions suggested were:
Patient agency. We talked about the importance of patients having a say in the care that they get, rather than being shut out of decision-making which is the basis of the health system we currently have. There cannot be a “one-size-fits-all” approach to mental health care and it’s vital that patients have both choice and agency to determine which treatment options are best for them.
Community care. We talked about how care and treatment that’s rooted in the community must be an essential part of tackling a mental health crisis driven in large part by the isolation and atomisation of living under capitalism. Too often mental health patients are sent to facilities hundreds of miles away from home.
Trauma-informed approaches. We talked about how many people living with mental health problems have experienced abuse and violence, which is often linked to structures of oppression e.g patriarchy, racism, ableism. We therefore discussed how trauma-informed approaches must be more embedded in mental health care systems which both raises consciousness of the lived impact of trauma and prioritises not re-traumatising patients.
Decolonial approaches. We talked about the prevalence of structural racism plays a significant role in driving poor mental health, and how it’s vital that mental health services recognise this and create structures and training that enable marginalised communities to access care that is responsive to their lived experiences. A key part of this must be learning from healing and community-focused practices that exist outside of the Global North.
Economic support. We talked about how, given that material conditions play such a key role in shaping people’s mental wellbeing, our campaigning work should support demands that seek to provide more economic stability to people such as Universal Basic Income, free childcare, higher wages and more.
Collective education. We talked about how certain kinds of treatment such as talking therapy, which can bring major benefits to people with poor mental health, should be something that can be accessed by all for free - which is in stark contrast to the system we are currently faced with. Participants suggested that one way this could be made more accessible is through collective education in communities so that many more people are equipped with the knowledge and skills to be able to provide this kind of support, rather than it being restricted to a very narrow cohort of professional specialists.
Challenging big pharma. We talked about how whilst medication can certainly be helpful to some people with mental health problems, a highly effective influencing strategy by the pharmaceutical industry has led to the dominance of a bio-medical model that leaves little support for other solutions within mental health care, but makes big pharma companies extremely rich. We must ensure there is thorough accountability for these companies and also that patients are able to access other forms of treatment that don’t necessarily rely on medication.
There were many other great ideas that have all been captured in detailed notes that we will reference going forward. The reason we ran a workshop focused on these issues is because we are in the process of developing a new flagship campaign around youth mental health care, and the input we got from participants in this workshop will feed directly into shaping those plans. We hope to launch the campaign in early 2023 - in the meantime, if you have a mental health story you’d feel comfortable sharing with us you can fill in this quick and easy form.
A big thanks to everyone who came along to the workshop and contributed to the discussions - it’s through coming together as NHS patients and staff, and sharing ideas and strategies like this, that we can and will build a powerful movement for health justice.