Despite both the personal suffering and the inconvenience caused by mental health issues, most people still don't or won't seek help, and of those who do most will not get the help they need or will have to wait a very long time to get it.
Since when did you need to be 'qualified' to hep another human being. Social contact, warmth, a sense of belonging and supportive relationships are powerful healing agents. By contrast, the systems of care that we rely on are overworked, inadequately resources and, to many people, unavailable just when they are needed most.
Everybody has some psychological difficulties at some point in their lives. Mostly we cope and manage these in silence. But 25% of us will not manage so well. We'll reach a point where we could really use some help. But most won't ask for it. Held back by wrong-headed beliefs and fearing the attitudes of those around them, they will soldier on and suffer alone. Sometimes, as we know, this has dire consequences. We can all do something about this, here are a couple of possibilities.
For the first time, the National Health Service waiting targets [...]
