THE ASPECTS OF MENTAL HEALTH

Mental Health is a very broad topic with more than thousands of aspects branching from it. The concept is vaster than it is presumed to be, with varied spectrums depending on the way people perceive it. While a talk on the topic can be volatile if not done in a sophisticated manner, on the other hand an in-depth conversation on the same can turn out to be very fruitful.
Mental Health is as serious as a sensitive issue it is. People’s knowledge on mental health is limited to the ability of a person to function in his daily life, which calls to be revised and broadened. Mental Health related issues can severely impact the functioning of a person in his day to day life, and has the potential to cause severe damage on social, physical and psychological levels.

Currently the discussions and conversations on mental health has become the most highlighted topic. Social media platforms have become the epicentre of mental health advocacy and mental health advocates. We often come across post(s) that openly debranch the topic of mental health, either by talking about one specific aspect of the topic or comfort to people battling with mental health related issues. But what exactly is mental health? Why is mental health always presumed as an internalized complication?

So, what exactly mental health is?

The definition of mental health varies from individual to individual, depending on various factors like perception, lifestyle, environment, contacts, etc. The common and settled definition of Mental Health is: “Mental Health refers to the wellbeing of a person, driven by social, personal and psychological factors, which results in shaping the mindfulness of the person.”

For the majority, the concept of mental illness is confined to passive psychological cases of Depression or aggressive ones like Anxiety and Schizophrenia. But, the idea of mental illness stretches beyond that. Feeling empty, losing yourself into trances, absentmindedness, feeling exhausted for no obvious reason, being on the verge of nervous breakdowns more than often, feeling internally suffocated are few of the many signs of mental illness, irrespective of their extremity. According to different researches and studies conducted by numerous scientists and psychologists, every second individual suffers from a mental health related issue like over stress, inability to sleep sound at night, loss of appetite due to stress, frequent absentmindedness, etc.
The knowledge of mental health is not limited to the study of psychology. You ought not to hold a degree in psychology in order to address the issues related to mental health. Having a basic idea about the signs and patterns related to the topic are enough for an individual for addressal.

DEPRESSION AND SUICIDE TRIGGER WARNING!

Every year close to 800 000 people take their own life and there are many more people who attempt suicide. Suicide does not just occur in high-income countries, but is a global phenomenon in all regions of the world. In fact, over 79% of global suicides occurred in low- and middle-income countries in 2016.
“In the year 2020, approximately 1.53 million people will die from suicide based on current trends and according to WHO estimates. Ten to 20 times more people will attempt suicide worldwide (2). This represents on average one death every 20 seconds and one attempt every 1–2 seconds!”
Suicide continues to be one of the leading causes of death globally! How scary are these facts?

One never knows what exactly can/does instigate/trigger suicidal thoughts in a person’s mind. While a few surface reasons can be loss of a loved one, failure, financial instability, academic/work stress and pressure, etc., are to name a few, the reasons behind suicide is never definite. People prone to mental illnesses are more at risk of committing suicide than a mentally healthy person. While clinical depression stands out as the leading cause of suicide, the above-mentioned factors are also some of the major reasons.

But the point is no matter how vocal people are about advocating the concept of mental health on online platforms, it is still treated as a stigma and a taboo in the offline world. While some live under denial and reject its existence, some treat it casually, while the rest tags the whole concept as absurd. However, there are also instances when people suffering from aggressive cases of mental illnesses like Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Anxiety are declared as “Acts of Demon Possessions’’. Teens and children suffering from mental health related issues fear confrontation because the majority of parents refuse to accept its existence.
Summing up, here are a few instances how the subject of mental health is treated in the offline world:

In remote areas, women with psychological disorders like MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder) are labelled as witches and are demonized, along with being subjected to cruel activities under the act of “Exorcism”.
Children, mostly teens of 14–19 years, often struggle to confront their parents about their mental health because parents often drift into the state of denial immediately upon confrontation.
People often tend to mistreat others struggling with perplexing mental states, because of their sudden outburst of emotions which are often catalysed by their overwhelming state of mind.
Most of the people who seek constant validations due to anxiety induced insecurities are often labelled as “Attention Seekers” by others on social media platforms. Upon confrontation, they are tagged as “Weak”, “Vulnerable”, and “Insecure” by the world. These tags are often thrown on men since according to the existing conventional gender parameters, men are expected to be strong inside out and crying is considered to be a feminine characteristic.
People undertaking psychotherapy are treated as exceptions and utmost astonishment, which makes them conscious about themselves resulting in self invalidation of their own feelings.

People delaying or postponing tasks due to anxiety issues are labelled as “Procrastinators” and further mocked or shamed for being so.
These are just a few instances. There are even more cases where people who suffer from mental retardness, especially adults aging 50–80, are even abandoned by their own family members.

WHY THE WHOLE RANT ABOUT FACTS AND CONCEPTS?

The bottom line is people just talk about the gravity of mental health related issues on specific occasions like World Mental Health Day, Suicide Prevention Day, etc., and then go back to stigmatizing the whole concept. It took the surprising death of one of the most renowned celebrities, Sushant Singh Rajput, for the entire nation to be serious about the arena of mental health and the complications related to it. Nevertheless, the seriousness didn’t last long since we have been well characterized by the society to go hush-hush when it comes to normalizing discussions on the same. Since the concept of mental health isn’t limited to a constructive definition or definite aspects, people’s perception of mental health varies extensively. Speaking from my own personal experience, people dealing with emotional droughts and mental breakdowns perceive a stable mental state as a hard to attain privilege.

To draw a conclusion, all we can summarize is that talking about mental health needs to be normalized. Mental illness causes sudden and peculiar outbursts of emotions which are beyond our control most of the time. If someone is trying to reach out to you by directly sharing or indirectly hinting towards their state, then listen to them. Don’t invalidate their feelings, because we can never decipher what’s going on in someone’s mind. Even if you have no knowledge about human psychology, its absolutely fine. Just assure them that you are a safe environment so that they don’t feel threatened by your presence. That’s all you have to do. Remember to “Always Listen Before you Suggest.”