Reflections from the Youth Mental Health Residential
This blog is written by Beth, a Just Treatment Patient Leader.
A few weeks ago, I attended Just Treatment’s youth mental health residential. I had a great time and learnt a great deal. Over the weekend we began conversations and thinking about how capitalism impacts mental illness, particularly in young people.
We started the weekend by exploring the power of our own stories and lived experiences including how capitalism has affected young people’s mental health. The stories helped to build a foundation for our “why?”. For me, I had never considered before joining Just Treatment how capitalism affects mental health. By learning from other people’s as well as my own journey, it was clear how much this problem is not being talked about enough. In the current day there is a lot of talk around well-being, such as well-being Wednesdays at work, or extra funding for mental health support but what are we doing to prevent some of the preventable causes of mental illness and madness rather than trying to “fix” the person?
As the residential progressed we delved deeper into “what is mental health?” and what are the structural causes or oppressions. Some of the key topics discussed included saneism, ableism, classism, misogyny and racism. We also explored many sectors including the education system, fossil fuel industry, psychiatric system, employment and health system.
A discussion that has stuck with me is that the world is generally created for people who are neurotypical (e.g. 80% of the population and that is seen as good enough). However, if you’re part of the neurodivergent 20% the world is not made for you. The world has been built to cater for non-disabled and neurotypical people, and it made me wonder if the world was built the other way round, would neurotypical individuals experience the mental illness and “symptoms” those that are neurodivergent experience in the everyday world?
The residential took place in the Lake District at a beautiful activity centre right by Lake Windermere. So naturally, we had to go on a hike! We walked around the local area (including up a nearby peak). The hike was so important because it gave us a chance to switch off from being an activist, and gave us time to get to know each other and what makes everyone so amazing (plus the views were stunning).
We had many short breakout rooms exploring different topics. One of the breakout rooms I was part of was class. When exploring class, it became quite clear that, of course, class is going to affect your mental health. Those in the working class often work long hours, have less time and money to attend social events, might not be able to afford private mental health support if needed, their housing may be challenging, and more. This would naturally contribute to your mental health negatively. Society is all about working to earn more and contribute to society and mental health is often bottom of the priority list.
Another breakout room I was part of was the mental health system. A key problem many individuals highlighted was the indisputable link between psychiatric inpatient care and incarceration - and how both struggles must work together. In both systems, once you’re in them it’s very difficult to get out. You are often treated as if you are not human and with no dignity or respect. If you do manage to leave either system, there is so much trauma from being in the system, which once again contributes to mental illness and madness. Another point from the discussions that I am passionate about is how physical health is often forgotten about in mental health services and the other way around. Often someone with a mental health diagnosis is not taken seriously in physical health settings and the mental health diagnosis is used as a label.
Overall, these breakout rooms opened my eyes to some many health inequalities - within my personal story, but also by helping me understand experiences I had not directly lived, such as those related to social care or racism. A key theme emerged: we are increasingly treated like products on a production line, with our thoughts and feelings systematically disregarded.
As we concluded the residential I felt a sense of collective purpose, our weekend together was a reminder that understanding mental health requires us to look beyond individual experiences and examine the broader systems that shape our collective wellbeing. By connecting our stories, challenging existing structures, and amplifying marginalised voices, we can begin to reimagine mental health support that is truly compassionate & holistic.