Normal

Normal is such a small word, but its influence and implications are gigantic. For me, and for many others, the main difficulty is knowing what it means, closely followed by a sense of it being irrelevant to so many areas of life.

I accept that in the scientific arena, there is probably some value in defining normal, but even there, when new discoveries are made, it becomes a moveable feast. And it's usually a range anyway.

How do we decide what constitutes normal? Average, most frequent? And who makes that decision? And do we actually need to trouble ourselves with answering the question? I think it's much more helpful to discover what works for you rather than if it fits with anybody else's definition, then work from there.

Many clients tell me that they think they must be a bit mad or crazy because they don't seem to think or behave as friends/family/colleagues do; but who knows what goes on in others' heads, what happens behind closed doors, what people get up to when they're alone? Even those in the closest of relationships may keep secrets from each other, after all.

One figure often quoted is that 1 in 4 of us has experienced some kind of mental health issue, but I suspect that it's much higher than that, maybe even 1 in 2 (at least!). I accept that my view may be skewed by the nature of my work, but I'm not just using clients as my examples. Which begs the question - if it is as high as I suggest, doesn't that mean that poor mental health (whatever that means) is just as "normal" as good mental health?