Let’s talk about Mental Health

As we all know, mental health is an extremely taboo subject, not just in India, but all around the world. People don’t want to talk about it, because most of them unfortunately consider it less important than physical health and well-being. However, the conversation about mental health needs to start, and it needs to start now.

We have all encountered people who will try to change the topic of conversation if the words ‘mental’ and ‘health’ are uttered even once. That is because they associate the word ‘mental’ with ‘crazy’ and ‘health’ with ‘physical health / being disease-free’. If you say that you have mental health issues, people usually respond with “Oh, there is no such thing! You’ll be fine, just give it some time!”. If you say that you want to go to a psychiatrist, people will say “Arrey, only crazy people go there. Tell me what the problem is, no need to go to the doctor!”. This just shows the ignorance and sheer lack of awareness and sensitivity in people.

Recent reports show that 64% (!!!) of Indian youth are depressed/suffering from mental illness. Isn’t that reason enough to start the conversation? Another thing that annoys me is people that talk about mental illnesses without being fully aware of the seriousness of these illnesses, and also people that throw around words like ‘depressed’ and ‘OCD’ when they actually have no clue about them. Education is important, guys.

I used to be one of those people who thought that only crazy people went to psychiatrists, people you find in mental hospitals. It took time, but lots of reading and education (from the Internet) made me aware and taught me that this is not the case. Last year, I was going through a really tough time, things weren’t going well in any aspect of my life, and I was thinking very negative thoughts. Then, one day, I realised that it wasn’t normal to have these thoughts. So I decided to make things better, to make my life better. I needed professional help, and going to a psychiatrist was the best decision that I made. He told me that I’d been suffering from anxiety and depression for a while (which I figured was about 4 years at that point of time) due to chemical imbalance as well as the tough situation in my life. He told me to go to a psychologist for counselling/therapy and suggested a book for me to read (which I haven’t read yet ‘cause it was too boring, but still) and to start working on thinking a bit more positively.

Depression is a loss of hope. Period. You think things will never get better and you will remain sad for the rest of your life, and that’s not fun. So making things better isn’t easy in the slightest, but it is worth it. If you can work hard to get good grades, you can definitely work hard for being happy. I started going to therapy regularly, and I can’t explain how much it helps. Talking to someone who doesn’t know you personally means that there won’t be biased opinions, or sugar coated advice. It’s straightforward, effective advice, which was what I needed. For some people, it is hard to find a good therapist, but I was lucky enough to find the therapist I needed in the first go. So keep looking. It really helped me, and I felt so much lighter. Like a big burden was off of my shoulders. It takes a lot of time and effort, like most things in life. But you come out of it a stronger person. It is liberating.

There are still several days/phases/time periods when I feel terrible, and sad, and mentally exhausted. The anxiety is still very much there, but it’s not like before. I know now for a fact that things will be better. Finally, there is hope.

Don’t be ashamed to get help, it is the best thing that you can do for yourself. It means that you’re smart enough to realise the problems that you have and are more than willing to fix those. Going to a doctor is a huge step in itself. Taking care of yourself mentally is as important as taking care of your physical well-being. If you aren’t in a good place in both of these aspects, you aren’t ‘healthy’. It is also a part of self-love, whose importance I can’t emphasize enough.

Always remember that there are people who care about you, and will support you and understand you. If someone doesn’t do any of these things, they’re not worth keeping in your life. Cut the toxic people out. Do things that make you feel better. Put yourself first, always.

Let us be the generation that ends the stigma around mental health. Let’s make it a normal topic of conversation. Let us help people feel better, and live their lives to the fullest. There is so much to live for.

“Happiness is the hardest thing you’ll ever fight for, but it’s the only thing worth fighting for” – Lilly Singh aka iisuperwomanii

Click here to read an article on how India sees mental health