What are we really missing when we talk about mental health issues?
Mental illness should not be stigmatized
Exploring deeper into the topic of mental health and its awareness as a whole in the society, throughout the past years it is highly visible that people are now becoming more open to learn and spread the importance of mental health whilst taking steps to promote better health strategies. It is rather a vast topic to dig into, from deeper analysis and studies to general, surface-level information there are still details that we might be missing leading into current studies. You may have an idea about what mental health is, why mental health awareness is important and how to recognize when someone requires emotional support, but what are we missing in the conceptual levels at the moment?
What is mental health?
Simply put together the words, mental health influences the way an individual thinks, how they feel and how they approach life. In other words, it affects how well our cognitive ability is to cope up with stress and challenges in life. It also affects how we behave and that is exactly how we have been taught to quickly act upon if someone shows signs of distress-talking about ending their life or even perhaps withdrawing themselves from their usual “fun” activities. (Different types of mental health issues show different types of symptoms, but don’t panic seeing the symptoms on screen, if you are in doubt you are in doubt consult a psychiatrist or a psychologist for help.)
According to WHO (The World Health Organization)
- Globally, depression is one of the leading causes of illness and disability among adolescents.
- Suicide is the third leading cause of death in 15-19-year-old.
- The consequences of not addressing adolescent mental health conditions extend to adulthood, impairing both physical and mental health and limiting opportunities to lead fulfilling lives as adults.
- 20% of youth have a mental health condition
- 1 in 12 young people have poor mental health
Mental illness ‘should not be stigmatized’
Different societal backgrounds and beliefs often seek to stigmatize mental health issues and are not ready to take a step forward into welcoming individuals to open about their inner battles, and this often falls as a reason why many are mentally restricted into bottling up their feelings in many cases leading to suicide.
If you know someone who is battling with mental disorders, feel free to lend them your time for a talk, it could be anyone from your family to friends. We all are capable of change even as one we could still start.
Remember that depression or anxiety or even panic disorders aren’t always accompanied by displaying uncharacteristic emotions, thinking of harming oneself self or others, hearing voices, etc… cause if you pay attention to these symptoms, they go in the inner mindset of an individual. Depression won’t always be signed by the lack of ability to fall asleep and breaking down in public, mental health disorders can also be accompanied with smiles and laughter that you’d wonder if they ever experience distress.
Conclusion
Our mental health impacts our confidence levels and self-esteem. Our mental health should be prioritized before anything –mental health before education and exams has to be a vital subject looked into by us as well as educational committees. Building the idea that a number in a paper could define a child’s impact on our generation or building the idea that numbers they get in an exam define their place in the society is a lightweight sense to be carried forward.
“What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor and more unashamed conversation”
Do you agree? Glenn Close