THINKER'S ALMANAC - October 10

Why do we prioritize dental hygiene over mental hygiene?

  

Subject:  Mental Hygiene - The Semmelweis Analogy

Event:  World Health Organization Mental Health Day

Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary. -Fred Rogers

Today is World Mental Health Day, an international day to raise awareness of the importance of mental health.  The day was established in 1992 by the World Federation for Mental Health and is supported by the World Health Organization (1). 

Image by WOKANDAPIX from Pixabay

Most people visit a dentist at least once a year to address their dental hygiene, but how many consider a visit to a psychologist or counselor an equal priority? Writing in Psychology Today, author Julie Hersh argues that mental hygiene should be taken much more seriously:

Has anyone died of tooth decay? No. Has anyone died of mental illness? About 36,000 per year die by suicide. I would argue that most of these 36K suffered from some form of mental illness, be it depression, bipolar disorder or another flavor. With the costs so high, why is it socially acceptable to practice dental hygiene but not mental hygiene?

One reason that mental hygiene is less popular than dental hygiene is the fact that it is much less visible than a toothless smile.  And as Hersh argues, “Humans have a long history of disregarding what they can’t see.”  The case of Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis is an excellent, and tragic, example of this.

In 1846, Semmelweis was working as an obstetrician in Vienna.  He was troubled by the large number of mothers who died in his hospital after giving birth.  In retrospect, Semmelweis’ solution to the problem seems obvious, but at the time it was radical:  He proposed that doctors wash their hands before entering the maternity ward.  Doing this, the mortality rate fell from 20% to 1%. (See THINKER’S ALMANAC - May 15).

Unfortunately for Semmelweis, his new hygiene regimen came at a time before germ theory, which was not established until microbiologist Louis Pasteur proved it in 1865.

Rather than embracing Semmelweis’ procedure, doctors resented his suggestion that they were the source of the problem.  Instead of being applauded, the young doctor was ostracized.  Tragically, Semmelweis began drinking and suffered a nervous breakdown that resulted in his confinement in a Vienna insane asylum.  It was there that he died, ironically, of an infected wound on his right hand on August 13, 1865. He was just 47 years-old (2).

On World Mental Health Day, we should remember Semmelweis and his contribution to helping us see that just because something is invisible does not mean it shouldn’t be addressed.  Just as doctors wash their hands as a preventative measure against physical disease, we should also consider how we might prevent mental illness through sound mental hygiene.  

You don’t just go to the dentist when your teeth are hurting.  Instead, the best and smartest course of action is to visit the dentist regularly in order to prevent tooth decay before it starts.  Just as we are proactive about our dental hygiene, we would be smart to do the same with our mental hygiene.  A visit with a mental health provider -- counselor, psychologist, or psychiatrist -- at least annually is a good way to begin to practice mental health hygiene.

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  How can our annual visit to the dentist help us understand the importance of mental hygiene?

Challenge - Your Mind Matters:  Write a short public service announcement (PSA) promoting World Mental Health Day. Convince your audience that mental hygiene is just as important as other forms of hygiene.

Sources:

1-World Health Organization.  “World Mental Health Day.”

2-Hersh, Julie K. ”Mental Hygiene:  Preventative Care for Mental Illness.”  Psychologytoday.com 28 Feb. 2012