The more I learn about humanity, the more I come to think we’re all the same. I find this in learning about the science that animates us — it should come as no surprise that we share a common biology — but also in learning about other aspects of our humanity as well. Each individual has their own unique version of the human experience, and there are surely many differences between one person’s life and another’s, but these differences are often superficial. At base, there’s commonality to be found. Philosopher/neuroscientist Sam Harris writes that virtually all human endeavors are simply different forms of a common pursuit:
Everything we do is for the purpose of altering consciousness. We form friendships so that we can feel certain emotions, like love, and avoid others, like loneliness. We eat specific foods to enjoy their fleeting presence on our tongues. We read for the pleasure of thinking another person’s thoughts. Every waking moment—and even in our dreams—we struggle to direct the flow of sensation, emotion, and cognition toward states of consciousness that we value.
I find this line of thinking goes quite a long way; I can’t think of a single human activity that is not, at some level, directed towards altering conscious. We work for a pay cheque that allows us to avoid the displeasure that goes with a lack of food, clothing, and shelter; we go to the doctor in hopes of shortening or even preventing the uncomfortable state of feeling unwell; we give money to charities so that people less fortunate than ourselves might enjoy a more pleasant situation; we compliment a friend in hopes it will make them happy (perhaps as well to enjoy the feeling of having behaved like a kind person); the list goes on.
Mental health problems and mental illnesses are a prominent barrier to achieving desirable states of consciousness. In this way they are just like any other health problem. Health is best thought of not as a goal or even a state of being, but rather as a resource susceptible to depletion. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as
The extent to which an individual or group is able to realize aspirations and satisfy needs, and to change or cope with the environment. Health is a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living.
Health as a resource for everyday life is a powerful concept. Health cannot be simply the absence of disease, for our health is vulnerable to much more than just disease. Stress, social isolation, negative thought patterns, etc. can all work to the detriment of our health; it would be foolish to ignore these things. Nor can health be the goal of life, not unless we wish our life to be very lame. Health as a resource relates back to the concept of altering consciousness: health is a resource to be used for pursuing the states of consciousness we deem valuable.
Mental health issues don’t make it impossible to achieve such states, but they do make it more difficult. The pursuit of desirable conscious states in spite of the challenges posed by subpar mental health is known as recovery. The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) defines recovery as
Living a satisfying, hopeful, and meaningful life, even when there are ongoing limitations caused by mental health issues.