An extended reflection on how we understand mental health 

Over the past 20 years, mental health has become a topic of widespread discussion. There are books, websites, and radio debates about diagnosis, over-diagnosis, under-diagnosis, treatments, and lifestyle changes for better mental health.

There is an ocean of advice, some of it sensible, some questionable, and some deeply unhelpful. The language of mental health has entered everyday conversation, but clarity has not always followed.

Against this somewhat chaotic background, Dr Gavin Francis makes a thoughtful contribution in The Unfragile Mind: Making Sense of Mental Health. Francis is a GP with a longstanding…