Often we think of mental health as an isolated personal issue — one merely acquired from chemical imbalances, hormonal problems, and genetic predispositions. But a broader look into the intersections of societal issues tells that this is not necessarily always the case.

In discussions concerning mental health, social factors are at times overlooked, prompting the inconsideration of the person’s social context under the prevailing systems, values, and manifestations in the status quo.

It’s crucial to note that mental wellness is not just a personal issue, but a social problem as well. It is socially problematic not only because of its aftereffects but also in the sense that among the causes are a vast range of social conditions and circumstances.

Let’s think of the following situations and questions:

How many LGBTQ+ people actually suffer from depression due to the discrimination, stigma, and prejudice they experience?

How many poor people actually suffer from psychological distress caused by poverty, financial crises, and deprivation of opportunities?

How many farmers and peasants actually suffer from PTSD brought about by the prevalent killings, harassment, and police brutality they witness?

How many women actually suffer from depersonalization due to the objectification, misogyny, and sexism they face daily?

How many workers actually suffer from extreme stress because of work burnout and capitalist alienation?

How many people actually suffer from climate anxiety caused by increasing climate disasters, inaction on the climate crisis, and uncertainty over the future?

How many individuals actually suffer from mental problems but remain undiagnosed due to the inaccessibility of mental health services and health care at large?

Studies have shown that social issues such as poor housing, unemployment, stigma, poverty, and low levels of education are all associated with mental ill health. These issues, in turn, can trap people in a cycle of illness.

From many medical viewpoints and in many medical practices, mental health issues are treated with multidisciplinary approaches apart from pharmacologic therapy. This only goes to show that such issues are beyond the limits of medicine, and to simply diminish mental health problems as biological phenomena and not as a complex interaction of various external components is to turn a blind eye to the reality of our material conditions.

This is where the value of contextualization comes in. It is integral to contextualize mental health into the political, economic, socio-cultural, and environmental intersections of the broader society. Apart from the clinical dimension, it is significant as well to address societal conditions that prompt mental problems to emerge.

As philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti said, it is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society. Truly, mental health is not a standalone thing. It should ultimately encompass all the social, political, and cultural factors that affect a person’s overall well-being.

Prescription medicines are not the only therapy to mental health issues; so is the systemic treatment of social ills that influence these issues in the first place. Achieving a free society is fundamental to achieving a free and sound mind. So as we work on curing the mind, we may as well strive to remedy society. – Rappler.com

AC Himaya Tupas is a first-year interdisciplinary studies student and a long-time campus journalist.