Dr Colman Noctor: I fear that mental health has become the new gluten

The wellbeing narrative sometimes suggests we should never be worried or unhappy, but this undervalues our own coping skills

Picture: iStock 

We tend to discuss mental health as a binary entity, as something you ‘have’ or you ‘don’t have’, or is ‘good’ or ‘bad’. But mental health is far more nuanced and complex.

While running a marathon may have helped some people overcome their sadness, this may not be helpful to the severely depressed person in an acute hospital bed who cannot summon the energy to brush their teeth.