Germanwings crash

There has been a whole lot of discussion about the tragic crash this week, and the health of the co-pilot who (apparently) deliberately crashed the plane. There are some headlines suggesting that "people with mental health problems shouldn't work" - because we are clearly dangerous.

Aside from the ridiculous nature of these claims, I would love to never work again (of course, I would need to get paid as I currently do). The truth is that people with mental health issues can, often, work in jobs exactly as anyone else. Let me be clear - you who are reading this work with someone who has mental health issues, and you don't know about it. I can say this with reasonable confidence because it affects at least 1 in 4 people, and many of these work exactly as anyone else.

Of course, sometimes people with mental health issues have restrictions - just like people with physical health issues. If you have a broken leg, you might not be able to walk about quite as much as otherwise. If you have anxiety issues, you might not be able to cope with certain situations. It might be that people with particular health issues might not be suitable for particular jobs, something that is applicable across mental and physical health matters.

Andreas Lubitz (the co-pilot) had been cleared by Lufthansa to fly. I know that the airlines take the health of their pilots seriously, and if Andreas would not have been allowed to fly if he was unfit, either physically or mentally. I know many people with mental health issues who are perfectly safe to work in any area. The problem with Andreas was not his mental health issues - if his action was deliberate, it was because he did not have enough help and support, because he could not talk about his problems enough, he could not say "I need help".

Do you want to learn something from this tragedy? Maybe it should be that mental health is something that effects all of us. Maybe it should be that mental health is something we should talk about more. Maybe it should be that someone you know, someone you work with or socialise with, someone you meet somewhere and talk with needs help, needs to be able to talk to someone about what they are coping with (or not coping with).

To those who read this who suffer with mental health issues, talk to someone if you need to. I do help run the "Waving not Drowning" board on the Ship of Fools, which helps many people who have mental health problems. You are not alone - there are others who can listen and help. Call the Samaritans if you need to. Find those people who will not judge, who will be there for you.

To those who don't, find those around you who do, and be there for them. Nobody asks you to "understand" or offer formal counselling or medical advice. What we need most of all is people who can listen, who can hear when we are at our lowest and not get scared off. And no, it is not easy, but then living with it isn't either. We understand - we don't want you to be perfect.

It's time to talk about mental health issues. The answer to avoiding another Germanwings incident is not to label all people with mental health problems "dangerous" or "unfit to work". The answer is to accept that people have problems, and be prepared to discuss them.