No Health without Mental Health: Taking Action to Heal a World in Distress—With People, Places, and Planet ‘in Mind’

The unprecedented global rise in mental anguish is closely linked with the erosion of our social fabric, economic and political systems, and to our natural environments. We are facing multiple new large-scale threats to health, safety, and security, with a growing lack of trust in others and in authorities. Pervasive stress, anxiety, depression, and uncertainty are of a nature and scale we have never seen before—manifesting in surging violence, community breakdown, domestic abuse, opioid and other drug overdoses, social isolation, and suicides—with alarming new mental health trends in children and young people. This has been made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic and amplified by an exponential increase in the amount and immediacy of information propagated through electronic media—often negative with manipulative intent aimed at dividing opinions through anger and fear. At the same time, there has been progressive erosion of kindness, civility, compassion, and social supports. Here, in this report from a “campfire” meeting held by the Nova Institute for Health, we discuss the importance of understanding the complexity of these interrelated threats which impact individual and collective mental health. Our dialog highlighted the need for efforts that build both individual and community resilience with more empowering, positive, and inspiring shared narratives that increase purpose and belonging. This includes placing greater value on positive assets that promote awareness and resilience, including creativity, spirituality, mindfulness, and nature connection—recognizing that ‘inner’ transitions contribute to shifts in mindsets for ‘outward’ transformation in communities and the world at large. Ultimately, these strategies also encourage and normalize mutualistic values that are essential for collectively improving the health of people, places, and the planet, by overcoming the destructive, exploitative worldviews which created so many of our current challenges in the first place.