BY Archana
Why don’t we discuss much about our mental health? Is it a crime to talk about us not being in a good condition, or is it a thing to be ashamed of if you have any problems or difficulties that are related to your mental health?
I have always noticed, even in my own family, that they never feel comfortable discussing what they are actually feeling and what is going on with them. They can easily talk about diabetes, cancer, piles, and many more diseases, but when it’s about depression, anxiety, or autism, they try to keep it secret or unheard. Even my decision to study psychology is to bring a change in society because I have seen my very close ones suffering and keeping things to themselves rather than getting checked and treated.
Mental health is a topic that is least discussed because most people don’t even know how important it is. Your mental health is totally responsible for your quality of life. I can guarantee that poor mental health leads to failure, not to success. According to the studies, one in five adults is living with a mental illness, which could be severe or moderate. Compared to mentally ill people, mentally healthy people are more likely to work, study, and live better.
Mental health is directly associated with our self-worth and self-esteem. Not only this, but our physical well-being is also directly connected with our mental health. Us getting socialized, finding value in our lives, problem-solving, memorizing, and a lot of things depend upon how good our mental health is.
Nowadays, we can see few people getting counseling, therapy, and medications for their mental illnesses, but still there are a lot of people left suffering. It’s not their fault, but still, in the rural villages of Nepal, they aren’t aware of mental illnesses. They don’t have access to mental health education. Even if they want to, they can’t get help because they don’t have access to the hospitals or even to an online platform to get awareness.
Nowadays, common mental health problems are depression, anxiety, stress, and OCD, and in children, autism is common. Which I believe is not normal. Children are trying to cope with their mental health illnesses at the age of playing and studying. They are not able to get a normal life, a normal schooling, or anything else. Why is this happening? Because we are neglecting our daily activities and our environments. We can surely say that in ancient times, these kinds of issues were much less prevalent. But now it is at the top.
Though we have been going through a lot of mental health issues, we can learn different ways to cope with them and treat them. Lifestyle is one of the major actors here, so we can try to change our lifestyle to make our mental health better. Exercises, balanced diets, nice sleep, yoga, and meditation can be a better way. Additionally, psychotherapy and support groups can be beneficial to help with mental health illnesses. If the condition is severe, we can also go through medication and other therapies. Taking care of yourself is the first need of life. So, not only is physical and mental health important, but mental health is equally important, and we need to take really good care of it.