South Holland and the Deepings MP Sir John Hayes writes about the importance of mental health – and what we can learn from Winston Churchill

South Holland and the Deepings MP Sir John Hayes writes about the importance of mental health...

Last week in Spalding, I opened a Community Mind Matters’ event as part of Mental Health Awareness Week. This year the week focussed on anxiety. As I said when speaking at this local event, as all lives bring difficulties, everyone suffers stresses, which is why it is important that when they arrive care is taken to ensure that fears and doubts do not overwhelm us, leading to pain, and harm.

It is essential we raise awareness of anxiety and what can be done to alleviate it. It usually manifests as a form of ever-stronger and longer-lasting worry, fear, or unease. I am very aware that in the past few years, the separation from loved ones we all experienced during the pandemic has meant many personal tribulations. I know too that for some people, past worries spill into the present.

Even one of our greatest Britons, Sir Winston Churchill, suffered periods of mental distress. He called his struggle with these doubts and fears a ‘black dog’ that followed him around. Churchill was fighting his own personal battles, even as our country was battling Nazi Germany, at one point he said: “I don’t like standing near the edge of a platform when an express train is passing through. I like to stand back and, if possible, get a pillar between me and the train. I don’t like to stand by the side of a ship and look down into the water. A second’s action would end everything. A few drops of desperation.”

The kind of doubts that great man experienced are part of being human. All men and women are frail and faulted in some way or another and there is certainly no shame in being hesitant, shy or even fearful, but no-one should be left alone with their anxiety. Even Churchill sought help after hearing of a friend who consulted a doctor about their own mental health: “I think this man might be useful to me – if my black dog returns. He seems quite away from me now – it is such a relief. All the colours come back into the picture.”

Seeking help by letting someone know how you feel is an important first step. Which is why I support the work being done here in South Holland by Community Mind Matters, led by Vanessa Browning, including a dedicated bench in Ayscoughfee Hall gardens which has provided many with a peaceful haven to meet and share.

It is also so important that we look out for one another, by talking to friends and family. If someone we love seems to be struggling, keeping quiet is rarely what’s best.

This summer our schoolchildren have exams for which that they have worked so hard, and for so long. Schooling nurtures curiosity, and builds self-confidence, preparing our children for adulthood and their entry into the wider world by enhancing capabilities so extending individuals’ sense of worth and purpose, but it brings challenges too. Even with the care of teachers and the love of family, growing up can be tough. Looking after younger people’s mental health, helping them control their anxieties at significant points in their lives, is important for them personally and good for society as a whole.

Exams are always a source of unease, as however hard those facing them have worked, they can’t know the precise nature of what they will encounter. Nevertheless, with preparation, confidence, and happy minds, the excellent work of our children, their parents, and their teachers will quell anxieties.

Mental health has long been a cause that I have supported in my role in Parliament. Earlier this year I spoke of the damage that unregulated social media giants and the internet can do to the wellbeing of the young and I will continue to do whatever I can to raise awareness of, and help legislate for, measures to protect us all. Winston Churchill spoke volumes about the strength of character in spite of challenges, and I hope his words are a source of inspiration to us all: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”