Get in the zone: an extract from Colman Noctor's new book 'The 4-7 Zone'

Psychotherapist Dr Colman Noctor believes living a balanced life is possible if we aim for the middle ground. In an extract from his new book ‘The 4-7 Zone’, he describes working with a client with high blood pressure and cholesterol levels who regains control of his life by making small changes

Pictured in Waterford is Colman Noctor with his new book, The 4-7 Rule. Picture: Patrick Browne

In contemporary language and media, we hear ‘mental health’ being described as a single entity. It is something you ‘have’ or you ‘don’t have’. In reality, mental health is far more nuanced and complex than that.

We don’t talk about physical illness in this way, because we accept that it exists on a continuum of severity — so why do we believe it is OK to talk like this when it comes to describing mental health?