World War 3 is here. In the form of man vs microbe, the human race is under siege, with no-one fully understanding this deadly enemy. With little facts and excesses of fake news, we turn to government websites, only to discover how little we currently know about the viral lifecycle, transmission, and treatment.   As we try to get to understand this microscopic enemy, the world still goes round, and for most of us, we face an uncertain future, without awareness of exactly what will happen in just about every aspect of our lives. With enough struggles in life, people cannot suddenly become expert virologists, and getting to understand the invisible   This World War, goes far beyond fighting the invisible enemy. Once we know more about how the virus works, we can take better steps to test for it, isolate it, & eliminate it, and at that point, fully turn our attention towards global recovery.   In this strange time when we spend so much attention on social media, the ability to mis-inform, through fake news, poor interpretations of posts, and prominent skewed horror stories, it is easy to be carried away by emotion, and ignore the cold hard facts.   It's Life, But Not As We Know It: Firstly, life is currently known to exist in 5 main forms; plants, animals, fungi, bacteria & viruses. The first 4 have very similar origins, each consisting of living cells. Viruses, on the other hand are a completely different life form, in a near static form outside of invading cellular organisms.  

Our bodies are vessels that carry around our mind. Although we often focus on looking after these vessels, to make the most out of them we often neglect the part of our body where we actually 'live'..... our mind. Our brains, are not guaranteed to be without trouble. Other than through injury, our minds are susceptible to 'damage' from the world we live in, and the stresses we are exposed to. Our clever grey cells try to adapt, but sometimes, these adaptations can cause further problems, and just like a car that is not serviced, problems can compound one another. The term 'Mental Health' has an interesting reaction on its audience. Some may hear it, and empathically want to help. Others are afraid, sometimes naturally so, of being 'sucked' into the unknown mind of someone else, often knowing that such interactions can be a very emotionally exhausting experience. Mental health challenges come in many forms, and it can fall upon anyone. No-one is exempt, no matter who you 'think' you are. Let us imagine these mental challenges as a pool of quicksand. Once someone 'falls into that hole' the path back out is often difficult or impossible to see alone, and the more splashing about, the more we try, the more we are likely to sink.. Those on the 'outside' who see someone struggling, but worry about being pulled in themselves, often question the rationale of the person they see in this sticky situation.  Often passers-by misunderstand the cry for help, and see it more as just a cry for attention, or even a cry worse, are afraid it is a cry of attack. As a result, this often creates panic and fear. Those on the 'inside' have 4 options. Stay still, sink, self-rescue, or seek help. Sadly, in this day and age, we are expected to sort ourselves out. Sometimes, we may not even realise we are in quicksand. For someone on the 'inside', not knowing which way to turn, all you often want is recognition from others, and guidance and help to find the least stressful route out of the quicksand, perhaps with a helping hand to learn not to fall in again.   Asking for help, however is a generally seen as a sign of weakness, and is often attached to ridicule and stigma. As a result, too few people seek help, and think they can rescue themselves. All too often, this is tragic. Too often, terminally tragic. Understandably, some passers by aren't strong enough to notice or offer a life-line, and those that are may be busy or pre-occupied, leaving only a few helpers available to offer the much needed assistance. To the passers by, the way out often seems obvious, but it rarely is that easy, with no-one else truly seeing what is going on below the surface.   So what can we do? If you ever learn to Scuba dive, one of the things you may learn is if someone begins to really panic near you, you are told to swim away. This is because it is easier to help someone once they calm down (or even pass out!), than to get close while they are 'flapping about' and have them accidentally drown you, too. Although the best approach for scuba diving, it rarely works for someone above water. To understand someone with a mental challenge, we have to understand what is hidden behind their behaviour. After all, someone's behaviour is just their way of trying to get an appropriate reaction, either physically from the world, or from the people in it, whether it works or not. Understanding what is behind the behaviour is the key. Firstly, accepting that a person is needing 'real' help, and is not simply broken, makes it easier to begin to identify the right type of help needed. Charities like Mind, focus on helping people get the help they need, and on building awareness. Understand that someone who falls into quicksand is not lost. They just need to be rescued. If only there was an emergency service that we could all call.