Omega Blog: Margaret Gallagher on Mental Health Conference

Event: Meditation and Mental Health Conference, London, May 2011

Words by Omega Facilitator Margaret Gallagher (pictured).

Recently I attended a conference run by Meditatio, a Christian organisation, on the benefits of meditation for people with mental health problems. Now those words ‘mental health’ can strike fear into the hearts of many people. Stephen Fry notwithstanding, mental health tends to get a very bad press.

When we think about physical health it sounds like a good thing to have. We all want physical health. When our physical health is not 100% we usually do something about it. Sometimes the problem is minor and temporary, sometimes it is major, or perhaps permanent – or even life threatening.

When we think about mental health it is a whole different universe. But it should not be. It, like physical health, is something we would aspire to – to be mentally healthy. But, just like physical health problems, mental health problems can be triggered by a wide range of things. And, like physical health problems, mental health problems can be anything from minor and temporary, to major and even life-threatening.

The only real difference is that it is our emotions and behaviour that show that we are not doing too well, not our bodies.

Minor things like an upset over a broken relationship can usually be considered to be one of the minor and temporary problems. ALL of us have, at one time or another, had to deal with some kind of ‘mental health’ issue of this sort, or even more serious. Like grief. And post-natal depression. Being bullied at work, or school, can easily lead adults or children to become depressed.

There many, many examples – it is part of life. At any one time 1 in 4 of us will be dealing with some kind of mental health problem. Most as a normal, human response to overwhelming life events, or ongoing overwhelming stress. Even the major, severe mental health problems can be triggered by long-term or major overwhelming emotional stress.

It is a human thing, like any other health issue. Treating ourselves and others as if mental ill-health is something to be afraid of, or embarrassed by, is to deny our common humanity for one thing, but for another, it is also to deny ourselves the ability to openly engage with learning to understand and manage our emotional/mental health and wellbeing – in the same way we are encouraged to engage with learning to understand and manage our physical health and wellbeing.

As someone with both lived and professional experience of managing ongoing mental health problems, I can confirm wholeheartedly that it is worth gaining an understanding of our own emotional health - and learning ways to take proper care, so that things don’t get out of hand.

It is as basic, and practical, as washing your hands before you eat. Working out your own ‘toolkit’ of helpful, healthy things to do (i.e. not alcohol or drugs – or chocolate!), that work for you, when the going gets tough or life is stressful, is one of the best things you can do for yourself. It won’t take away the cause of the stress, but it can lessen the effects by increasing your resilience – which is particularly useful if the cause is something that cannot be altered. If you are a carer, for instance…

Meditation is one of those things that can make a difference. Which is why I went to the conference. It was run over two days. The first day was for ‘the science bit’, and how it interacts with both the peace of mediation and also the spiritual connections people may have. The talks and workshops were delivered by researchers and mental health professionals, who shared with us all their evidence that proves how helpful meditation can be; as well as talks and workshops delivered by spiritual leaders representing Christianity, Islam and Buddhism – who linked both the scientific results and the meditation to the various traditions.

The second day was very much more practical and demonstrated how meditation is understood and practised within the different traditions. Topics covered included transcendental meditation, prayer, Buddhist meditation, Christian spirituality and mindfulness as part of cognitive behavioural therapy, which can be very useful for getting out of the negative thought patterns that are part of depression.

As with all things which may be new or unfamiliar, it can take time to still your mind and to ‘get into’ meditation but, as someone who has been working at it for a little while, I can report that it is really worth doing. Even if you think you can’t – give yourself time and you will be surprised. It is an amazingly peaceful practice and can really help to both set you up for the day, and to help you deal with it – even when you feel you are not a very good meditator. It is a learning process – you will improve with time and patience – and it is worth it! I recommend that anyone who is interested should do some research to see what is being offered by way of mediation groups or courses in your area. It is much easier to get started with a group than by yourself.

The organisation which set up the conference, Meditatio, also call themselves ‘The World Community for Christian Mediation’ and, if you are interested in finding out more about them, their contact details are as follows:

The seminar presenter and chair was: Revd Dr Sarah Bachelard

And the people who delivered the talks and workshops were:

Father Laurence Freeman OSB
Professor Peter Gilbert
Shaikh Kabir Helminski
Dr Norman Rosenthal
The Venerable Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche
Dr Jonathan Campion
Rev Chris MacKenna
Don Boyle
Carol Morrison
Dr Marcus Averbeck
Dr Shanida Nataraja
Terry Doyle
Andrew Lyddon

It was a very special event.

Margaret Gallagher, May 2011.

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