Health services in the UK are struggling with the rise in mental health problems particularly in the young. Loneliness and isolation are increasing, both in the old and the young, exacerbated by the impact of technology. 

Of course, there are mental conditions which are best thought of as medical problems, but have we created a culture which promotes mental ill-health? 

Psychiatrist philosopher, Dr Iain McGilchrist, has documented how the left half of our brains focuses on the detail and see the world as separate things, while the right half of our brains see the big picture and the world as interconnected flows (for example, see this video). Dominance of the left half of brain results in us seeing ourselves as separate individuals, rather than as communities and ecosystems, and has driven a very individualistic culture.   

McGilchrist describes how this imbalance in how we train our brains and ‘attend to reality’ has resulted in a culture unable to see how things fit together, less able to see things from multiple perspectives, and limited in our ability to use our imaginations to their full extent and to see possibilities. 

Is this mental imbalance in our culture driving increasing mental ill-health?   

We know individualism drives greater mental health problems, while collectivist values do the opposite. We know that being part of a community is better for health and spending time in nature reduces mental ill-health. Can we further and take this further to think about the value of a more spiritual and religious outlooks (of course recognising that religious intolerance can be very problematic)? There is lots of evidence that being part of a faith community is good for our health and well-being. 

McGilchrist calls for us to make space for a sense of the sacred in our lives. Good advice, from a psychiatrist, I would say.   

Let’s join the dots and reconnect.