Thread by @garwboy

Balls to it

I've long dealt with people dismissing my takes on #mentalhealth as I'm an aloof academic who only deals in 'the science'. Ergo I rank lower than someone with 'real experience' (e.g. Hari), apparently

You want to know why I'm so invested? I'll tell you

Thread

/1

And yes, there is talk of suicide in this, so #TW and so forth. Apologies in advance for any distress, feel free to mute/block/unfollow if that's a bit much.

/2

Why do I care so much about mental health being covered/explained correctly & compassionately, when I've no (known) issues myself? Other than 'It's obviously the right thing to do and only a heartless prick could think otherwise', that is?

As ever, it started in childhood

/3

For those who don't know, I grew up in a former Welsh mining community, a small valley in South Wales, during the Thatcher years.

Small, isolated, remote community, economically deprived, very few long-term prospects. Not the best place for robust mental health as it is

/4

It was the Garw valley if anyone's wondering. Hence my twitter name. I actually grew up in a pub in the village of Pontycymer (this is in my second book, where I detail the disconcerting experience of seeing that pub now derelict)

/5

I had a nice childhood, no notable traumas beyond the usual ups and downs of modern life. But, with the best will in the world, when you live in a pub in a remote, declining community, you get to see a lot of expressions of mental health issues.

/6

A lot of alcoholism, obviously. A lot of mood issues, a lot of personality problems, a lot of anger and emotional disturbance, psychosis, the lot, you know? It was all there, right in front of my childhood self

/7

#TW

It's a familiar story for most I know, but yes, we also had suicides, some of people close to us, and it's always awful. But the very notion of mental health was never mentioned, there was no resources beyond the local GP that I was ever aware of, at the time

/8

That's why it was weird for me, seeing all this as a kid, then learning about psychology and mental health later. It was like I'd been raised in a jungle, then did a zoology degree. Was constantly going "Oh, THAT'S what that's called!" about the stuff I'd witnessed in others

/9

I can only ever wonder how many people would have been helped, saved even, if there was a better general understanding or awareness of #mentalhealth when I was growing up, like there is now

/10

Obviously, that sort of consideration certainly motivates me to try and improve the situation for others by my own efforts, whoever and wherever they are. Might not succeed, but still, worth a go I'd say. "Be the change you want to see in the world", and so on

/11

I'd argue that alone is a good enough reason for me to be personally invested in trying to make sure mental health information is as widespread and scientifically-accurate as possible

Sadly, that's not the whole reason. Not by a long shot

/12

#TW again

The Garw valley, where I grew up? That's in the county of Bridgend. Does that name sound familiar? You might be thinking of the 'Bridgend suicide incidents', from 2008, just over 10 years ago now

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridgend_…

/13

I won't give any details, because a lot of people I care about are still dealing with the fallout, probably always will be. Suffice to say, it was an absolute hammer blow for my family. I lost relatives.

/14

I'll say this to my comedian 'mates' at the time, the ones with your 'bantz' about the rope shortage in Bridgend, or promises to take my shoelaces away when you remembered I was from there; you'll never know how close you came to me ripping your spines out with my bare hands

/15

But the absolute bucket of lemon juice into the agonising wound? The media coverage

Sensationalist. Ghoulish. Couldn't give a fuck about the consequences. So much so the police literally had to intervene to ask them to stop

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/725…

/16

#TW
The media coverage was widely blamed for prolonging the suicide spate. But they didn't seem to give a shit. It was just working class kids in a deprived remote area after all. Nobody who mattered, right? That was the impression for most of us, anyway

/17

Would lives not have been lost? Would my own family have been spared lifelong pain and trauma if the media had given any consideration, at all, to the mental health of the people they were sensationalising? It's quite possible. That's something I have to deal with

/18

So hopefully you can understand why, seeing cynical, self-serving or otherwise just plain wrong and harmful coverage of mental health in the media? That's the proverbial red-rag-to-a-bull for me. I KNOW the damage that can do. I've lived it.

/19

Did all this motivate me to get into neuroscience and stuff, and start talking about it? I don't know, maybe on a subconscious level. But, looking back, it's definitely led me to constantly wanting to push back against any dubious or harmful mental health stuff in the media

/20

#TW Robin Williams dies by suicide and people with major platforms start calling him 'selfish'? No, fuck that, not on my watch

theguardian.com/science/brain-…

/21

Major paper (that I used to work for) sneakily endorses pill-shaming and stigma? Sorry old employers, but I can't let that slide

cosmicshambles.com/words/blogs/de…

/22

Hell, even my books all follow this theme, I realise in hindsight

Worried your brain is going wrong and failing you, and are too scared to mention it? It's OK, your brain's an idiot, this happens all the time, see?

amazon.co.uk/Idiot-Brain-Ne…

/23

Worried that you'll never be happy, that you're always stressed and miserable despite everything? It's OK, happiness is actually really complicated and tricky to keep hold of

amazon.co.uk/Happy-Brain-Sc…

/24

Teens could really do with information about mental health, stress and other complex issues? Given my background, there was no way I was going to shy away from that. Hence, this book

amazon.co.uk/Your-Parents-D…

/25

Confused about all the information about mental health, what it means, who's right or wrong, what works and what doesn't and why? That's what my next one's about, an attempt to explain all that from my (hopefully) informed-but-mostly-neutral stance

audible.co.uk/pd/Psycho-logi…

/26

I'm not looking for sympathy or condolences, btw. I'm clearly fine. I'm a straight white guy with a media profile and writing career. Hence I've kept quiet about it all, even to close friends, before now. There are people far more worthy of sympathy and support out there

/27

But it's been made increasingly apparent that, for most people, whatever your contribution to the mental health 'conversation', having clear personal experience with mental health matters carries more weight than not, regardless of your awareness/understanding

/28

And you know what? 99.99% of the time, that's as it should be. Those who deal with mental health problems daily shouldn't have to play second fiddle to those who don't when it comes to an issue they have abundantly more experience and insight with

/29

But while it may be 'indirect', I'd argue I have enough 'personal' experience with mental health problems, and particularly how they're covered, to justify my constant contributions

No idea if I'm actually *helping*, but the thought is there, I feel.

/30

So if you want to know my own 'stake' in #mentalhealth matters, now you do

It's also why I refuse to be lectured to on the issue by a self-promoting Cambridge-educated known-plagiarist with an open invite to be part of the media and celebrity elite, no matter what he's done

End

TL:DR with this thread?

Some people: "You shouldn't criticise Hari, he has real experience with Mental health issues, you just know the data"

Me:

A deeply-personal thread about why I give such a damn about #mentalhealth despite not having any issues with my own, because many seem to think I need one.

Also explains why I won't let certain shysters make harmful claims about it unopposed

https://twitter.com/garwboy/status/1175019497771732993