Jack Averty: Straight talking is vital when it comes to a healthy mind

It’s a fabulous thought that we get to come back and enjoy this glorious life again, be it as a tiny little fly, a gargantuan oak tree, or anything inbetween.

Sadly, it sounds completely implausible, well at least it did until this week when a dinosaur came back to life as a snake right before our eyes.

For those brave enough to endure last week’s column then you will understand the unbridled joy on this writer’s face when it was revealed this week that dinosaur Kelvin Mackenzie was to be relieved of his column writing duties for Britain’s biggest selling newspaper, The Sun, after offensive comments towards both footballer Ross Barkley and his Nigerian heritage, and the city of Liverpool.

Sadly, however, the joy was short lived as only a few days later Kelvin’s wretched views on the world seemed to manifest themselves in the form of that snake Piers Morgan.

Now Piers is no stranger to controversial comments, he’s very much from the mould of say anything that is controversial to attract attention because bad publicity is better than no publicity. Has anyone ever seen him and Katie Hopkins in the same room?

Normally he keeps his estranged views for Alistair Cook of England cricket fame and Arsene Wenger of torturing Arsenal fans fame.

But Piers decided this week, which just so happens to be mental health awareness week, to turn on those with mental health problems.

He very kindly and eloquently told Britain to ‘man up’ after it was revealed some 34 million Brits could be battling mental health problems.

These tweets followed an earlier appearance on Good Morning Britain where he debated the topic with Cannock’s Stan Collymore, a former professional footballer and known for his long-running battle with mental health problems.

On his show Piers further added to his dated view, stating: ”A lot of people in this modern era are being led into the thought process the normal rough and tumble of life has to be categorised as mental illness.”

A swipe at ordinary British citizens not enough? Don’t worry the former US talk show host and current Daily Mail columnist also took aim at some celebrities saying they used mental illness as a ‘badge’ and claimed singer Lady Gaga had ‘every problem in the world’.

It’s difficult to believe that someone who says anything for attention has violently missed the point, but, shock horror, he has.

The reason mental health is such a big issue for people in this country is because of the fear of speaking out and getting the kind of reaction that our beloved Piers (or is it a reincarnated Kelvin?) has vomited up.

Thankfully this column doesn’t need to spell out the merits of speaking up about mental health issues as people far more famous than some chubby bloke from Jersey have already taken up the mantle.

Prince William, Kate and Prince Harry, arguably the three most recognisable faces in the country, have set up a new campaign to encourage more people to speak out about their mental health.

Entitled Heads Together, the campaign saw thousands of London Marathon runners don blue headbands to promote the cause. It’s also encouraged both Prince William and Harry to open up and discuss the despair of losing their mother, Princess Diana, at a young age.

The campaign has also featured other high profile figures opening up and discussing their battles with mental health problems including Piers’s best mate Lady Gaga and former Labour Party spin chief Alistair Campbell.

If you’re unsure about who’s right, ‘man up Piers’ or ‘open up Harry’, then a serious re-evaluation of life is required.

However, there’s a third side to this, and that’s how it’s OK not to talk if you do not want to.

This is completely different from the deranged opinion of ‘manning up’, it’s the view of accepting you feel a bit down but not being forced to open up about it because you don’t feel comfortable doing so and do not want to do.

The figure of 34 million people in Britain battling health problems is perhaps far fetched, but the figure is undoubtedly in the millions. The question is though, how many of these people are battling severe problems that are a matter of life or death, and need urget help? That figure probably isn’t in the millions.

There’s a difference between those really struggling with mental health problems and needing to talk to someone, and those who suffer mildly – and they should have the choice whether to speak about it or not.

Piers recognises these people exist but instead classes them feeling down as just the rough and tumble of life. It’s not, they have mental health problems too but just not to the same extent.

There’s a difference between feeling down and feeling suicidal.

It’s OK to feel a bit down and not feel the need to ring your friends and family and pour your heart out. It’s not OK to feel suicidal and not tell anyone.

Charities and campaigns are vital for removing the stigma around mental health, especially for men, so that the option whether to talk about healthy minds or not is there in the first place.

But the next hurdle after that is to explain how it’s OK for people to feel down from time to time and not feel the need to tell everyone about it if they don’t feel comfortable. Sure if you’re not feeling 100 per cent, the option is there to talk about it and no one will judge you if you do, but it’s entirely your decision.

It’s important to have the option to make these decisions; in life there are some things you can’t choose, such as what you come back reincarnated as.

Fingers crossed it isn’t as Piers Morgan.