So what is mental health? I, like a lot of people, had no clue what it was when I was younger, or at least I had the wrong impression about it. I went into the pandemic struggling with several issues, not knowing that it could be related to my childhood, my teens, and a significant amount of trauma from my late 20s. Nevertheless, I finally reached out for help a few months back. I understood that mental health is just like physical health. I write here as someone who’s still learning, even I don’t know the A-Z of mental health.
If you face a physical health issue like a muscle tear, you would prefer to get it analyzed and understand the root cause, rather than say “I’ll eat the pain away”. Taking care of your brain is also similar. You might notice a few symptoms like sleeplessness, blood pressure, restlessness, obsessive behavior, lack of hunger, addictive behavior, etc. You may just want to address the root cause. But we live in a country that finds it completely OK to discuss another person’s weight, skin or complexion in public, but we’re not allowed to discuss mental health. There’s still so much stigma. Did you know that India is one of the most depressed countries in the world? Yeah, a great portion of our population is struggling with mental health issues. This data comes from WHO and probably doesn’t count for all the unaddressed cases. So, I’m not kidding you.
There are several mental health issues, and they could show up in various shapes or forms in different people. Mental health issues don’t discriminate based on your size, age, privilege or gender. A few common examples are Anxiety, Depression, OCD, PTSD, ADHD/ADD, Bipolar, Eating Disorders etc. The treatments could vary from medication to Psychodynamic Therapy, Interpersonal Therapy, CBTI (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) etc.
I was also raised with all the naivety, thinking that a person with mental health issues is basically crazy and needs to be put in an asylum. This assumption also comes from popular culture (movies, TV, media). That doesn’t have to be the case. You might just want to improve your mental health. For example, you might go for a yearly diagnosis to improve your physical health, why can’t you do something to support your mental health as well?
When you have, say, a fracture, you would first visit the doctor and see if you could have an outpatient treatment and support yourself at home. In the worst-case scenario, when you’re terribly ill, you would get admitted to the hospital and even that might be temporary. It’s the same with mental health, it does not equate to mental illness. Although, mental illness can also be treated and supported.
So there it is. I put it out there. Even if this helps a single soul, it will make my day. Mental health support just gives you enough tools to look at your life from a wider perspective and how one event might have led to another. It gives you a safe space to discuss your issues. It also helps you compartmentalize, connect the dots and understand your life better. Mental health is a journey, and it’s never a straight line. There will always be ups and downs, but you will always come out on the other side knowing how to be a better advocate for yourself and your health.
If you’re someone struggling with your mental health, there are a number of organizations that provide support at a decent price. You can even ask for reduced pricing based on your pay scale. The best part, you can also do this from the comfort of your home. Please reach out below (this is not an ad):
Will add more links if I find out in the future, do bookmark this page if you find it helpful.
See Ya!
