Abstract
Abstract In this paper, I will begin by charting some of the conceptions of mental health in young people today, paying particular attention to recent mental health education policies in England. I will focus on the concept of ‘resilience’ as central to these policies, and how this represents an impoverished understanding of mental health, what it means to ‘overcome’ mental health issues, and what, in fact, might constitute an ‘appropriate’ response to the world we (now) live in. In order to explore an alternative conception of mental health in light of this, I turn to an example from existentialist literature—Dostoevsky's Notes from underground. On the surface, this novel appears to be an account of a man suffering from a mental breakdown. Ultimately, however, I argue that texts such as this enable us to explore more fully what it is to experience mental health issues, and that also point us to the fundamental vulnerabilities and uncertainties that are an intimate part of being human.
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