Mental Health featured in the Olympics when Simone Biles, the American gymnastic superstar, pulled out due to mental health issues. Her normal amazing precision was missing in the first event; her mind must have been thrown by other issues. She had been in the forefront of action against sexual abuse which demonstrates that there is a limit to what the brain can handle, though happily she returned to compete successfully later.

Dina Asher-Smith, our GB running star, pulled out due to a muscle injury - this makes a direct parallel between physical health and mental health; we need both - not just at the Olympic level, but as part of our normal lives. For most of us "achievement" is extremely mundane, but our minds become an issue when mental capacity is crowded by other issues. I know myself how bereavement can do that for a limited period.

Drug deaths are also in the news, after escalating hugely. Nobody really wants to be a drug addict or an alcoholic, but people become trapped in a cycle of addiction. The starting point is often some problem from which the victim looks for escape in a bottle and becomes vulnerable to worse alternatives. Scotland has hit the news, but every single drug or alcohol related death is one too many.

Professionals may rightly criticise my glib analysis above, but there is a huge need for mental health support to be easily and readily available. At the moment there are not enough qualified staff or trained volunteers to cope with the problems. Meanwhile, we all need to be aware of our friends and neighbours, including those we may not like or approve of, and show care and concern for them. A hundred years ago, mental health was not well understood, but people in a village or a neighbourhood took care of each other - we can still do that!

Returning from a seminar some years ago I worried that I had symptoms of all the different categories of psychological disorder. Then I realised that having a little bit of everything is normal. We all pass through periods of depression, excitement, obsession, fear and elation, maybe after bereavement - enough to imagine how awful it must be to be trapped for a long time in any one of these extremes.

This is not new, the pandemic has only heightened our awareness. There is no magic solution, money by itself achieves nothing. Capable and qualified staff are needed, which requires a long term programme of recruiting and training. We worry about job security in the travel industry; global warming suggests that air travel should be reduced anyway. Does society value a mental health doctor or support worker more than cabin crew or airport staff?

Our democratic government is chosen by the majority; only a few have mental health issues; the majority assume it will never affect them. There are so many misperceptions. In adventure films, the hero always has a couple of whiskies before tackling an evil gunslinger or facing a difficult meeting. What nonsense! Alcohol lowers reaction times, awareness and impairs thinking - as many of us have experienced at some time after a celebration!

Politicians need to pay attention to the many overall needs of our society; not least we need to get on top of mental health and the drug problems that are entwined with it.