Can We Separate Individual Mental Health From the Collective?

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Can We Separate Individual Mental Health From the Collective?

The longer I work in healthcare, the more I find myself returning to this question: How can we support patients whose problems are deeply intertwined with systems actively contributing to their distress? More and more, we are finding that mental health does not exist in isolation but is shaped by the environments, institutions, and social structures we inhabit.

We often see conventional mental health focused on individual emotions, thoughts, and behaviors, with the aim of empowering people through personal responsibility and therapeutic techniques. While incredibly valuable, this individual focus can sometimes overlook broader systems that influence mental well-being—societal structures, environmental factors, and cultural expectations. This can leave the onus of healing solely on the individual, obscuring the interconnected role of society.

We find examples of this dynamic all around us. In the modern workplace, worth is often tied to productivity and “hustle culture” glorifies overwork, pushing people beyond healthy boundaries. Rising costs and stagnant wages create chronic stress around financial security. Our educational institutions prioritize academic achievement but often neglect vital mental health skills like emotional regulation, leaving many to navigate challenges without the tools to manage stress effectively. Healthcare access continues to remain fragmented and limited by high costs, preventing many from accessing necessary support.

Mental health still remains stigmatized in many parts of society. For instance, a doctor disclosing a mental health challenge to the medical board may result in professional consequences and removal from practice. This fear of accessing health may, in part, explain why doctors suffer from a suicide rate approximately twice that of the general population. In the military, some choose to confide in chaplains rather than mental health providers to avoid possible career impacts, underscoring how institutional structures often prevent people from seeking help openly and safely.

On a larger scale, existential threats like climate change, resource depletion, and environmental degradation act as collective stressors. A recent study found that 59% of young people report feeling “very” or “extremely” worried about climate change, and over 45% say it negatively affects their daily life and functioning. Global conflicts and the influence of entrenched power structures destabilize regions and displace communities, creating lasting cycles of insecurity and trauma. With societal priorities often driven by profit and short-term gains, people are left feeling helpless, grappling with forces beyond their control. It is no surprise that research suggests that only 20% of Americans trust their government in Washington to do what is right “most of the time,” a drastic drop from over 70% in the 1960s.

The Interconnected Self

The concept of the interconnected self, found in many Indigenous and holistic paradigms, sees mental health as inextricably linked to community well-being, natural surroundings, and social harmony. Traditional African, Native American, and Eastern approaches, for instance, view mental wellness not as an isolated experience but as a balance within a collective network. Disruptions in communal bonds, family, or society at large often lead to individual distress, signaling a larger societal imbalance. These traditions view individual suffering as a call for collective healing, rather than something to address only at a personal level.

Collective Consciousness and Shared Pain

Carl Jung’s work on the collective unconscious offers additional insight into the intertwined nature of individual and collective healing. Jung proposed that we carry not only our personal histories but also the accumulated experiences of humanity within a “collective unconscious”—a reservoir of memories, symbols, and traumas shared across generations. As individuals, we can experience inherited pain that shapes our stress responses and emotional states. Epigenetics—our understanding of how gene expression can change without altering the DNA itself—helps explain how trauma experienced by previous generations may prime our nervous systems for heightened sensitivity to stress. These inherited changes influence not only how we react to adversity but also how we perceive and process emotional experiences. These mental health challenges can thus reflect collective wounds yet to be addressed, illustrating how individual distress is part of a broader societal narrative of unresolved pain.

Mental health, therefore, does not exist in a vacuum but is deeply connected to intersecting social, institutional, and cultural factors. If we focus just on the individual, we may miss the opportunity to examine the underlying interconnected systems that shape well-being. As we begin acknowledging these less visible forces affecting mental health, we can better understand the complexity of the problem.

This perspective shifts the question from “How can individuals manage mental health issues?” to “How can society create environments that prevent them?” This approach acknowledges that mental health challenges are not just personal struggles but reflect an added role of deeper societal imbalances, giving us an opportunity to re-evaluate the structures we live within and begin to shift toward systems that are actually designed for the well-being of human beings.

This post is dedicated to my love, whose unconditional support and shared vision of collective healing help me make sense of the world every day.

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