Mental health is underrated. You don’t realise its importance until it deteriorates. Mental wellbeing, like overall health, is not just the absence of illness. It is how well you handle stress, manage relationships and make decisions. Mental health is closely tied to physical wellbeing, in a way that both compliment each other. But yet, somehow we tend to focus on our physical health more than anything.
There is, however, an increasingly positive trend of increased awareness about Mental Health. The emergence of employee assistance programs (EAP) with partner organisations is an example at the workplace. The Government of India also has shown its support by introducing the Mental Health Policy in 1982 and subsequently launched various initiatives including enactment of the Mental Healthcare Act. A recent report showed that there was an increase in awareness and in conversations around mental health.
But at a macro level, these are positive indicators. But at a more personal level, mental health awareness boils down to identifying your own stressors. Almost always, we are so caught up in the daily rigmarole of our busy lives that we tend to ignore the symptoms. Downplay our own choices and continue with somehow managing a deteriorating mental health. This is manifested further into many forms – such as lack of concentration, poor sleep, poor relationships, low performance at work, feeling scared, losing your appetite or losing interest in the things that you once enjoyed or even more serious — feelings of self harm.
While I continue to deal with some of these myself, I can humbly attest that an excessive focus on trying to be okay can be hazardous. Seeking professional help is necessary and oftentimes unavoidable. We lead fragmented and compartmentalised lives, so our social circles get naturally divided into varying wholes. This further erodes their capacity to fully understand and support our situation. Many of our mental health issues arise out of past traumas which are often hard to explain. In an effort to move on faster with our lives, we tend to repress memories. These unresolved issues crop up at a later time in life.
Being vulnerable is difficult. Even though a massive body of work suggests that it is in fact the most beneficial. Lowering your guard down in front of another person requires courage. I have often been on the fence about therapy but over the past few years I have changed my stance. It can be very scary to open up to another person, but believing in the process can help. It is also a slow, deliberate process but sticking to it is important. Though uncomfortable in many places, the end result is that you tend to view the world with a different lens. Therapy comes in many forms and identifying what works for you can help you get the best out of it. Practicing meditation, working out, meeting friends, traveling to new places, journalling help too.
Affordability of mental care remains a big issue though. An average session with a therapist can cause anywhere upwards of Rs. 1000 per hour which translates into about Rs. 4000 per month. This is expensive. But promising models such as the community based mental health models, encouraging more youngsters to take up mental health as a profession, more support to Mental Wellbeing NGOs such as iCall and providing insurance support can help make these services more affordable.
Additionally, being aware about mental health issues is not only good for yourself but also for those around you. Being a supportive ally to those who maybe dealing with issues can help them cope better. I am still working with this aspect. It takes a great deal to suspend your beliefs and approach everyone with a clean slate. For, you never know what the other person is dealing with. This is a true practice in empathy.
For support you may reach out to
- Tangent Mental Health Initiative: https://tangentmhi.wordpress.com
- https://icallhelpline.org