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Mental (HEAL)th !

I didn't spend any time yesterday imagining lower self-esteem and confidence levels. Or frantically worrying about the current 'pandemic' that we are in. But, it seems, it it not the case with everyone else.

The numbers are staggering. Up till 2018,  28 people 'take their lives' in our country everyday and out of them, 24 are students. And the worrying part is that this graph is steadily increasing every year.

Stress, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts & behavioral disorders are found to be the main reasons why people are taking this 'extreme' step. 

We've done a shameful job, so far in recognizing and protecting such people.

What can we do -

1. As parents, we can create an environment in our homes where our children are given complete freedom to express themselves, no matter what the situation is. The onus is on 'us' parents, not their teachers, not their schools and not the society they are living in. Let us raise them as and to be our 'best friends' instead of our children.

2. As friends and colleagues, let us silently 'watch' out for the ones who are showing signs of having any problems. Not easy to identify but if you know them well, I think, you will be able to. The best we can do is to listen to them (without judging them), offer them our trust and support, be patient and more importantly, just be with them during this difficult phase.

3. As human beings, let us be compassionate, empathetic, kind, accepting and loving towards our fellow people and that's the least we can do to begin with.

I fail to understand one thing is how can our minds be so strong and 'all conquering' in one or more areas of life and at the same time, be so fragile and weak in another. But as they say, our minds work in mysterious ways and what i could understand is that Mental illness is not all black & white; it's not that simple as you have it or you don't. It is much more complicated than that. And only that person can understand what he/she is going through and nobody else.

Mental illness and Depression are for real, it is easier to overlook as everybody might not relate to it but it is slowly adding up, everyday, for generations. It's almost impossible to make a list of things I didn't worry about yesterday. We need to work overtime to make that true for more people.
 


Comments

Sreejith said…
I heard Chef Ranvir, say, just pick up the phone and call people. Say "hi". Ask how is he/she doing. That's enough. Just pickup and call as many people as you can, randomly and you never know who needed that phone call. It's these random 30 sec calls that helped him come out of depression. It just shows someone remembers you. It might or might not help, but all we have to do is call.
10:01 AM
Shrini said…
Agree; You have made a very useful point. These 30 second calls can be easily done if the intent is there.
12:12 PM
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