Everyone Has Mental Health

A short Essay By Jo Coldwell

“They’ve got mental health.” This is an  expression I previously used; naively at best, flippantly at worst. They have mental health. What does this mean and who was I addressing it to? On reflection I now know that I would use it about a person who openly discussed, or outwardly showed, any recognised mental condition, for example anxiety or depression. It was my daughter who corrected me. First of all by questioning me. As all children should. “What do you mean, Mummy?” Followed by, “Everyone has mental health. Some have good mental health and some have poor mental health” and it was a bit of a lightbulb moment for me - giving clarity to mental health, making me realise that it’s more than an on/off switch and that, as she pointed out, we all have it and that there are varying degrees of “good” or “poor” mental health.

From this clarity I understood that mental health has to be nurtured. Fed, watered, tended to, stimulated, and rested. My brilliant teen was ten steps ahead of me and identified that her own mental health was susceptible to fragility and affected by intrusive thoughts and anxiety. By recognising it and naming it she asked for help, which I was able to find through various means but eventually, she worked out her own coping mechanisms - being aware of the boundaries that protected her mental health, surrounding herself with people who respected them, knowing when to slow down and eventually by finding power and strength in running (recognising that the endorphins from running nurtured and soothed her thought patterns).

I teach yoga and this understanding that we all “have” mental health has shaped the way I now teach. Yoga is a beautiful practice that is better led by the head and the heart than it is by the physical poses. Feeling into the practice is far healthier than forcing ourselves into physical shapes.

As I learned from my daughter I also learned from my now deceased parents. My dad was a huge character and very physical (described as “sporty”) but at the heart of his sports - squash, football, badminton, golf, were the people. He was extremely sociable and said that his love for sport was more about community and connection. My daughter set up the community running group RUN LIKE A GIRL COLCHESTER.

I champion my own community through yoga - the “sangha” (community). My mum died with dementia (an example of poor mental health) and through this loss and witnessing slow deterioration of health I have introduced aspects of brain training into my yoga classes (teaching different sequences weekly is mentally challenging for me and the sangha!)

It’s not enough to say “you have mental health”. You have to ask if it is good, bad, fragile or healthy and then take the steps to nurture it. The Tree Room offers a safe space where you can find a wide range of therapies to enable these steps. How lucky we are to have this place in Colchester.

About the author: Jo Coldwell is  a yoga teacher, camper van enthusiast and runs Red Lion Books.