The Prevailing Narrative
Written on June 19, 2026
All the world's a stage.
Early in this series of posts I talked about the idea that the recent extraordinary growth in the number of people suffering with, and treated for, mental health problems and illnesses is at least partly because we are becoming more aware of and knowledgeable about mental health problems and more ready to talk about our difficulties and to seek help. I noted that, 'seeking help' usually means consulting a professional who has the training and knowledge to identify the reasons for these kinds of problems and to administer the appropriate remedy. Implicitly or explicitly, we understand that if we don't do this, we will continue to suffer.
This is now the predominant narrative of our age, but as it stands it is not so different from that of previous generations (and which is still alive), when religious and spiritual understandings of mental suffering prevailed (in extreme cases with reference to demonic possession). Important remedial responses were prayers and supplications by, and on behalf of, those affected. Those recognised as qualified to advise and minister to them would usually be members of the clergy or self-appointed 'spiritual healers' and so on. In contrast, the narrative provided by the modern professionals is that our mental symptoms and suffering are due to there being something faulty with our genes, or our nervous system, or our acquired habitual ways of thinking and behaving, and so on. This knowledge is derived from scientific enquiry and is therefore highly specialised.
So, maybe we can say that in the past our understanding of mental suffering and its alleviation was based on religious indoctrination and now it is based on indoctrination by science. So what's the problem? Isn't this a good thing and doesn't it represent great progress? I don't think it's as simple as that. Allow me to explain why. (I believe that what follows is identified by the expression 'taking a systems approach'.)
Much of life is like an extemporised play; what we do, say and think, and even how we experience everyday life, including its challenges and how we meet those challenges, is scripted and choreographed by social, cultural, economic and political forces. This is what I am alluding to when I talk about 'prevailing' or 'dominant' narratives. Thus, in our society (perhaps in most societies), it is those who have most control of the prevailing narratives who have the most power.
Well, nothing new so far. But I make the above observations with 'the professional classes' in mind. I am referring here to those people in political, educational, healthcare, welfare, legal and other services who, by virtue of their knowledge and expertise, collectively command power and influence in great swathes of our lives by being 'in control of the narrative' relating to their specialist field. And inevitably (maybe deliberately, maybe not), the narratives they construct will be influenced by their own needs and requirements, even when, as in the present case, their intentions are worthy and benevolent (notes 1, 2, & 3).
Notes
1. I call this 'The Tyranny of the Professions' and I made my case some years ago in a paper on my website at www.mheap.com/Tyranny1.pdf
2. No lesson seems to be so deeply inculcated by the experience of life as that you should never trust experts. If you believe doctors, nothing is wholesome: if you believe the theologians, nothing is innocent: if you believe the soldiers, nothing is safe. Letter from Lord Salisbury to Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton (15 June 1877). Over the top, but the sentiment is relevant here.
3. This applies to tradespeople too, as the great economist Adam Smith stated in his 1776 book 'The Wealth of Nations': It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, or the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interests.
How might the above ways of thinking help us account for the huge growth in the incidence of reported mental health in modern societies and, despite all our efforts, our failure to stem and reverse this trend? Time for more thought.
Note: At present, it's not possible for you to post your comments on my blog directly. But I welcome them via my email address, and I'll only upload them under 'Comments' if that is your wish (and with the usual stipulations about offensiveness, etc.)
