Until this fundamental point is addressed, all the “mental health days” and corporate wellness packages will have only limited impact.
Anyone who thinks the 287 million (WHO) people worldwide living with depression has nothing to do with them is sorely mistaken.
As a practitioner, when I’m speaking to a group of 50 people, I know that statistically at least 8 of them will be living with depression.
Some will know it.
Some will hide it.
And others won’t even recognise it yet.
This means that someone you work with, are friends with, your child is friends with, a member of your family, or the mum or dad you see smiling at the school gates is struggling.
When I work with young people, it’s often visible in their posture, in their breath, in the way they carry their eyes. Depression is not rare – it’s woven quietly through our classrooms, offices, and homes.
And it thrives in isolation.
We are built to be tribal beings.
In traditional communities, emotional suffering was seen as a collective imbalance, not an individual weakness. When one person was in distress, the community gathered. Because their pain was a sign something had gone wrong in the web that connected everyone.
Nowadays when it comes to our mental health, the rhetoric may be positive and supportive on the surface – but the message is still very much – this is your problem, go to therapy, sort it out.
Instead of asking “What’s wrong with you?” we should be asking “What’s happened to us?”
And we already know the answer.
We live in a world designed to make excessive amounts of money for a few – because apparently, we need another billionaire megalomaniac more than we need communities that can hold each other.
Meanwhile, millions are quietly drowning in lives that look fine on the surface:
– Raising children alone
– Working multiple jobs
– Barely sleeping
– Choosing between food and bills
– Navigating friendships that are polite but not nourishing
Our culture applauds “mental health awareness” with posters, hashtags, and campaigns.
Companies post about “creating community” and advertise their “wellbeing” packages.
But when someone’s actually struggling – who turns up at their door?
Who checks in after the event, after the photo, after the applause after the therapy session? Who cooks their meals for a while or calls them in the morning when they can’t get out of bed? Who hugs them?
Emotions are contagious. We feel it in crowds, angry mobs, peaceful protests, meditative retreats. The nervous system syncs to the group.
So why, when someone is struggling, do we effectively abandon them?
We heal in connection, not isolation.
It’s about time we change the conversation around depression.
✨ To book me for your next corporate or educational wellbeing event, where I teach practical tools to manage stress, prevent burnout, and optimise performance – contact me directly via LinkedIn message or email. ✨
Raj lehl 