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Perhaps we have fallen into a trap...

The trap of labelling any difficult emotion or low mood as being a 'mental health problem'.

Is it really?

Is feeling sad really a sign that you're unwell?

Should we strive for happiness in every moment?

There are two sides to this, and they act in a cyclical fashion - feeding off each other.

One is the constant promotion of happiness as being aspirational. The idea that we should feel joy and pleasure all the time, or at least as much as possible.

The other is the pathologising of low mood and so-called 'negative emotions' such as anger, envy, frustration, worry, and so on.

The more we believe one, the more we believe the other... on and on, ad infinitum.

This week I felt a range of these unpleasant emotions: low mood, despondency, frustration, worry, and more.

Does this mean I'm unwell?

It wasn't enjoyable, sure. But it doesn't mean something is broken.

It just means I'm a human being.

My concern around this is that more and more people are...