Combating Taboos around Mental Health

When we talk about health in our everyday conversation, it’s almost always about our physical health. Think about talking to your friend and saying “Hey I had high fever and I was feeling very sick”, ” You know my stomach ached and it was so painful”. Now think about how many times have you talked about your Mental Health? Do you ever say any of your friends “I am feeling very stressed and I don’t know what to do?”, or “I am having mood swings and why I don’t know? “

I do not think we ever talk about our feelings and thoughts and how they are being bothered. People on a larger scale always ignore the very important aspect of their lives that is “Mental Health”.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the definition of health is “the presence of physical, mental or psychological and social well-being”. We are definitely concerned about the very physical health but what about mental and social health?

The rate of suicide is increasing every second. People are suffering from depression and many other mental health issues and they have no idea about how to help themselves. Mental Health and physical health are not separate entities.  They both are connected and affect each other. For example – When you have a fever, you do not feel good and your feelings, thoughts and emotions are affected, therefore you can not focus on your studies or any other activity which requires your full attention. Similarly, when your mental health is affected you can not perform a task effectively.

For example – A child who is abused physically and emotionally, their mental peace is affected and physical health as well.  Thus, they may not take food properly and suffer from various physical issues, their academic performance might deteriorate. Well, it is high time we talk about our mental health and normalise it. Mental Health is an integral part of our life.

How can we normalise it?

Let us hold hands and talk about our feelings and emotions with each other. When a friend is coming to you, listen to them and be there for them. When children go to their parents and share their feelings, they need to hear them out and help them out. When you are having serious issues adjusting in a new place or going through an emotional turmoil, seek help from a therapist. There is nothing to hide and you do not need to abide by these stereotypical rules.

The definition of strength, as they say, is not those who suffer alone and rise, rather it is those who take help in time and rise to the skies. All you need to do is speak your heart out and when someone is opening their thoughts out, all you can do is listen patiently.

For any information you can contact Heart2Mind at contactus@heart2mind.com or +91-8595752152.