Mental health awareness plays a vital role in this crucial period of pandemic.
‘Physical health adds years to your life,whereas mental health adds life to those years’ ‘ this saying helps us to understand that mental health is integral for living a healthy balanced life. During this present situation of pandemic with suffocating air and large burdens in our heart,we are in a rush to protect and safeguard our physical health.
During the marathon race for a perfect and fit body, let’s just stop and rethink ”What makes a sound body?” It’s not just healthy food,proteins,vitamins etc. It’s the presence of a sound mind that maintains a sound body. Have you ever done anything for the good functioning of our mental health?
So let’s have a meticulous look at the importance of mental health awareness.
MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS
Mental Health is our emotional, psychological and social health. It determines how people think, feel and even how we act.It helps us to work productively and helps to create a great contribution to the society.
Plutarch said “what we achieve inwardly will change the outer reality”.Mental health helps us to cope with day to day stresses of life & work and plays a crucial role in our life. Time and mental health are precious assets that we don’t recognize and appreciate until they have been depleted.
MAJOR ROLES OF MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS
Mental health awareness plays an inevitable role in our daily lives.
It has a major role in our overall development. The major roles include:
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Helps in personality development
When wealth is lost nothing is lost, when health is lost something is lost,when character is lost everything is lost. Yes…for a better personality we should have a better character with a sound body and mind. Our personality consists of what we think,perceive,behave,and act. So for a good personality building good mental health is important.
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Helps in the progress of our society
The mentality and attitude of citizens of a country has a major role in the good functioning of our society. A well educated and healthy citizens could bring a better change in our surroundings.
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Moral development
Humans can dissect between good and bad with a better understanding of our society,norms and rules. A good mental health condition helps us to have an eye opener to the various discrimination prevailing in our societies.
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Aesthetic development.
We are living in a world of various shades of colour. There are numerous objects that fascinate us. The noise of chirping birds,the rustling voice of leaves, the softly flowing river etc. We are surrounded by a heap of aesthetic objects.
We should turn to the environment and should enjoy the alluring and magnificent creations. A mind with good mental health could be open to all sorts of beauty and joy. So mental health is so integral for aesthetic development.
MENTAL ILLNESS
Mental illness affects everyone no matter the race, gender, culture & ethnicity.The presence of mental illness implies the absence of mental health. It can affect the functioning of our brain, mainly our thinking, perception, emotions, signalling, physical and behaviour.
We should understand that mental illness is nothing to be ashamed off it is the shame & bias shown to the mental illness that shame us all. We always fail to address one of the serious issues of depletion of mental health. Have you ever asked whether our mental health is operating well? Very rare question!
The topic of mental illness is usually considered to be a taboo,or as an unspeakable act. Even while living in the 21st century the misconceptions regarding mental illness have not yet disappeared.
MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS DURING COVID 19
Mental health has a crucial role to play during the present situations of covid 19.We all are facing different issues during the pandemic.Bereavement, isolation, loss of income and fear are triggering mental health conditions. Many people are facing insomnia, increased levels of alcohol and drug use and anxiety.
The mental health of students is of great concern. Stress and anxiety has increased due to covid-19 outbreak. Different stressors were identified that contributed to increased level of stress, anxiety & depressive thoughts among students .These include fear and anxiety about health.
Man is a social being living within the social interactions and relations. But due to the covid 19, quarantine and isolation,the decreased social interactions due to physical distancing has affected our mental health in high amplitude. Due to the pandemic the education system has changed into online mode. In this current education mode there occurs less interactions and high pressures and depressions.
The increased concern on academic performances, the fear of the future, the unemployment aroused are triggering our minds. These problems highlight the need to develop interventions and preventive strategies to address mental health.
DEPRESSION
The most common issues that arose during the pandemic are depression and anxiety. Depression contributes to 12-17% of psychiatric disorders. It is the most common single psychiatric disorder. Severe depression could lead to psychosis. Depression is different from the usual fluctuations and short lived emotional responses to day to day life.
It can cause the affected person to suffer greatly and function poorly at work, at school and at home. The outside appearances of a person might be far away from the inner realities. We are much familiar with the quote of ” Never judge a book by its cover” . Similarly we cannot and we shouldn’t judge a person by his/her outer appearances and behaviours.
CAUSES OF MENTAL ILLNESS
Depression results from a complex mixture of social, psychological and biological factors. People who have gone through adverse life events such as unemployment and psychological trauma are more likely to develop depression.
The worries about performing well in academics, the fear of tests, can also constitute mental illness. The various factors causing mental illness and depression include:
- Financial struggle
- Family issues
- Medical illness
- Unexpected challenges
- Post trauma
- Death of near and dear ones
- Derangement in neurotransmitters
SYMPTOMS
The main symptoms of depression include low mood, decreased interest in pleasurable activities, lethargy, easy fatigue,suicidal ideation and so on .They would have intense wish to die and they lack energy and concentration.
So if you guys have, or know anyone around you with the following symptoms please try to lend a helping hand because early diagnosis does a lot for a better Mental health.
TREATMENT TO MENTAL ILLNESS
A small stream of mental illness can turn into a river in the absence of good treatment.Early diagnosis and treatment helps us to cure the mental illness in the budding stage. Proper treatment under the guidance of a psychiatrist is the first line management.
The stigma associated with mental illness prevents many from taking treatment. The topic of mental health and mental illness is intertwined with a lot of misconceptions and false beliefs. Antidepressants and mood stabilizers can help to recover from mental illness.
Never try to do home remedies, they are futile and wont help in your mental health. We should never go for over the counter drugs. The proper treatment can cure your illness.
DIFFICULTIES IN IMPLEMENTING MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS PROGRAMS
There are a lot of issues and difficulties in implementing Mental health programs. Barriers to effective care include lack of resources,as there is a large gap between mental health problems and resources needed to prevent and treat them. The barriers to effective treatment include:
- Lack of resources
- Lack of trained health care providers
- Social stigma
- Inaccurate assessment
There is a lack of mental healthcare providers and a huge amount of social stigma associated with mental disorder. There is still a great vagueness in the concept of mental health and mental illness. There should be more programs related to mental health awareness.
There are a lot of people living around us who do not know the importance of a sound mind along with a sound body.A lot of misconceptions are related to mental health. It is mostly considered as an alienated subject.We need to talk about it and get rid of the stigma.
COMPONENTS OF GOOD MENTAL HEALTH
Good Mental health is achieved with the help of good parenting,good education, economic awareness, encouraging independence and liberty. We should understand that stress and anxiety are part of our life just like happiness and confidence.
Whenever you feel disturbed or suffocated by day to day pressures try to take a break and do something that you really enjoy doing. Being able to understand yourself,our needs,the emotions,being able to communicate your needs to others,being ready to hear others in an empathetic way,to cope with challenges etc forms the major components of mental health.
Mental health is a very sensitive subject among a lot of people. If you’ve suffered from a mental health issue or know someone who is suffering there are multiple charitable organisations. Please seek help and you are not alone. Let’s join together to eradicate the stigma and to bring smiles to the minds and faces of everyone as possible as you can.
AUTHOR: ATHULYA JOSE
Also read: COVID 19 CATASTROPHE IN INDIA
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