In this episode, we unpack the question that lies at the heart of this podcast. What is Mental health? Tracing its meaning through time and cross cultures - from the philosophical musing of Plato, who linked mental well-being to harmony between reason, spirit, and desire; Descartes' mind-body dualism, which shaped centuries of Western medical thought; to Michael Faucault's critique of how societies define and control the "mad" and the "sane".

It doesn't stop in Europe. The show brings the conversation home to Africa, exploring the wisdom embedded in Ubuntu philosophy (I am because we are) and how community shapes individual mental health. The journey continues through Dagara cosmology, where mental health and spiritual wellness are inseparable from one's place in the web of ancestor, nature, and purpose.

This episode uncovers how different traditions have imagined the path to healing: From rational self-mastery, to resisting oppressive definitions of illness, to restoring balance within the self, the community and the cosmos. By weaving these threads together, it reveals a more expansive, culturally rich understanding of mental health, one that invites us all to heal not just as individuals, but as interconnected beings in a living world.