A Germanwings aircraft flies past the headquarters of Germanwings at Cologne-Bonn airport. Photo: Wolfgang Rattay/ReutersA Germanwings aircraft flies past the headquarters of Germanwings at Cologne-Bonn airport. Photo: Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters

When faced with ad-verse or catastrophic events, such as the Germanwings tragedy, we naturally ask the why questions and tend to jump to oversimplistic conclusions and unreasonable generalisations. Indeed, this is a defence mechanism to help us cope in a state of panic.

In the wake of IS and the terrorist attacks in Paris all Muslims became a target; following a rape by a black person, all Africans became suspect; now it’s a co-pilot suffering depression, so it is the turn of all persons having mental health problems.

In reality, we hardly encounter anything which is monocausal; life is far more complex. Oversimplifications and generalisations do an injustice, resulting in stereotypes and biases.

Nobody is questioning whether safety should be a priority or otherwise. Of course it should be. It is the responsibility of the professionals involved to make sure that safety risks, especially where public safety is concerned, are minimised.

Moreover, every organisation should ensure that all employees offering any service are fit for purpose. This is most applicable to the transport sector where huge masses make continuous use of road, rail, air and sea services, entrusting their safety (almost always) to a single person.

The safety of passengers and crew should never be taken lightly.

Depression is very common, so let us stop the ‘us and them’ kind of reasoning and discourse

It is up to the company concerned to make sure that safety measures are in place and procedural checks and balances are effective.

It is unrealistic to say that, to be on the safe side, all persons with depression should be excluded from assuming any job of responsibility. I cannot figure out how that could work.

It should be borne in mind that 13 – 18 per cent of Europe’s population experience depression at some point in their life. Imagine if we had to take it a bit further and, just to be 200 per cent safe, we also factor in all those persons who have been through difficult relationships, the loss of a loved one or any other stressful situation. Research shows that these factors, among others, may also precipitate depression.

Moreover, persons with mental health problems do not come with a label printed on their foreheads.

We just cannot assume that a person suffers from depression simply because one or more of these factors are present and take action on the basis of that assumption. Heaven forbid we start reasoning this way. We would end up having more than half of the population systematically unemployed.

Generally, people who suffer from depression do not pose risks to others. When depressed persons attempt or commit suicide, their action tends to be directed towards their own selves, with no third parties directly involved.

We have to admit that the alleged Germanwings’ co-pilot’s suicide is atypical and, based on the available information so far, it looks more like a mass murder than anything else. It is an isolated case and it is to be treated as such.

Nevertheless, if a mental health problem (or any other health problem, for that matter) is so severe to the extent that it hinders the person concerned from achieving an acceptable level of functionality, then that person should be assigned to a different or lighter job throughout the recovery process.

Safety first.

Mental health professionals know very well that when someone’s life is in jeopardy, confidentiality may be breached because the ‘protection of life principle’ overrides any other one.

Hopefully, this co-pilot’s story serves to inspire and prod mental health professionals to take ‘interagency and interprofessional working’ even more seriously. Sharing of information, particularly to protect the persons concerned as well as third parties, should be encouraged and further regulated.

Clear protocols and procedures should be in place.

There must be a mental health policy in every organisation. Air Malta should have one too. Such a policy should promote the culture and encourage practices in favour of mental health.

Mental health is not the mere absence of mental illness. If effective systems are in place, it is likely that mental health would be more effectively promoted at the workplace, early detection of mental health problems would be facilitated even further and those experiencing mental health problems would be formally and informally supported both within and outside the organisation.

Mental health issues should be central in every organisation. If an organisation is open about mental health problems, employees are likely to feel supported and talk about the issue when in need.

On the contrary, if the organisational culture on mental health is closed, antagonistic and penal, employees are likely to simply conceal it and carefully avoid talking about it. The outcome of the latter scenario is riskier.

Indeed stigma is counterproductive and dangerous. The more persons with mental health problems are demonised, the less they are likely to seek support and to want to talk about their problem, precisely when the seeking of such assistance and comfort is so necessary.

Stigma is the main reason why, very often, people with mental health problems become reluctant and resistant when it comes to seeking professional help.

In order to combat stigma, mental health lobbyists have been likening mental illnesses to other diseases like cancer and diabetes to highlight the notion of ‘illness’ and minimise the associated taboo.

Many people fail to realise that depression is a medical problem and that, as such, it needs medical and psychosocial treatment. Many still think it is a matter of attitude, laziness or faith crisis.

Of course, mental health illnesses are medically different from cancer and diabetes and that is why there is a separate specialisation in medicine - psychiatry. Furthermore, one should note that depression is an umbrella term that includes various subtypes of depressions.

In my opinion, the main two lessons to learn from the Germanwings’ co-pilot incident revolve around effective interagency and interprofession cooperation and the centrality of mental health policy at the workplace.

Depression is very common, so let us stop the ‘us and them’ kind of reasoning and discourse. If this is not about us, it is about our relatives. Let us refrain from making hasty and oversimplistic conclusions! Let us reflect more and seek evidence-based conclusions.

Holger Saliba, a social worker by profession, worked in the mental health sector for 12 years.

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