Talk About Mental Health

A clear distinction is often made between 'mind' and 'body'. But when considering mental health and physical health, the two should not be thought of as separate.

Poor physical health can lead to an increased risk of developing mental health problems. Similarly, poor mental health can negatively impact on physical health, leading to an increased risk of some conditions.

Since the founding of the NHS in 1948, physical care and mental health care have largely been disconnected. There is an increasing call on healthcare professionals to consider psychological well being when treating the physical symptoms of a condition and vice versa.

How mental health affects physical health
 

• double the risk of death from heart disease

• three times the risk of death from respiratory disease.

There are various ways in which poor mental health has been shown to be detrimental to physical health.

People with the highest levels of self-rated distress (compared to lowest rates of distress) were 32% more likely to have died from cancer.1,2 Depression has been found to be associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease3

Schizophrenia is associated with:

This is because people with mental health conditions are less likely to receive the physical healthcare they're entitled to. Mental health service users are statistically less likely to receive the routine checks (like blood pressure, weight and cholesterol) that might detect symptoms of these physical health conditions earlier. They are also not as likely to be offered help to give up smoking, reduce alcohol consumption and make positive adjustments to their diet.