Thread by @AndrewBrunatti

The question for today's #Castlereagh200 thread: How did the interaction between social and professional spheres of life increase the risk to Viscount Castlereagh's #MentalHealth? 1/

#twitterstorians #HistParl

The cumulative stress related to work can be reduced when a person has a number of elements in their life, and distinct separation between them--often termed ‘self-complexity’ (e.g. hobbies/interests/responsibilities that are separate from work, co-workers, and the workplace). 2/

Self-complexity can lead to greater mental resilience because it allows a person to isolate stress (i.e. they can 'leave stress at work,' or at home, etc.) With fewer elements, or less separation between elements, the risk to mental health increases. 3/

Castlereagh, as with many Regency-era politicians, had a constant overlap between the professional and social elements of his life, within a gruelling schedule. Richard Rush, the American Ambassador in London, observed the usual tempo of aristocratic London:
4/

"Neither the opera nor Covent Garden break up until 12. Parties beginning so late, last until 2 and 3 o’clock. [...] About 2 commences the roll of carriages; at 6 the morning ends. [...] This is no overdrawn account, but the daily routine." 5/

Rush adds that, apart from the wealthy aristocrats who could sleep in, "there are others: men of affairs, whose duties are arduous [...]--cabinet ministers, parliamentary orators, even chancellors and vice chancellors. How these go through it all, seems more strange." 6/

There was a rolling number of social engagements that inevitably included members of the Govt, MPs, and diplomats. These engagements were key to maintaining one’s identity and network within aristocratic society; they were not entirely optional, even for a cabinet minister. 7/

Yet these social events were also politically risky spaces where socialites and foreign diplomats alike had their ears to the ground for intelligence. For a minister with Castlereagh’s responsibilities, no social event was ever purely social; there was always politics. 8/

The lack of separation between professional and social spheres meant that Castlereagh had very low self-complexity. He was living the stress of his work almost constantly, with little ability to retreat into different parts of life where that stress didn't exist. 9/

I've discussed in previous threads the intensity and long hrs associated to Castlereagh's work, but this is the other side of the coin: his ability to escape into different, unrelated elements of life was also very limited. The social was always political. 10/

In my next #Castlereagh200 thread, I'll turn from the intensity and long hrs associated with Castlereagh's public duties, and begin looking at factors that contributed to the *emotional* demand on him as a politician. Stay tuned.

@threadreaderapp unroll