MENTAL HEALTH IS NOT ABOUT THE DESTINATION OF LIFE. IT IS ABOUT THE JOURNEY YOU MAKE AND HOW YOU DRIVE …
Everybody pays attention to physical health, but nobody cares about mental health. In addition to physical health, mental health also plays an important role in a person’s well-being. Mental health is that asset of our life that needs to be preserved at any cost, but people tend to neglect it. That is why the cases of suicides and depression are rising every day, especially since this pandemic has begun.
During this pandemic, people face so many mental issues, either from stress and tension or overthinking. Improper mental health is the only cause that people are losing hope and sometimes even their lives. It has become the need of an hour to spread mental health awareness among the people. And with this piece of writing, our attempt is to create a sense of mental health awareness among the people and safeguard their lives.
IMPORTANCE OF MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS
Creating mental health awareness has become very important. It affects 19% of the adult population and 46% of teenagers, and 13% of children every year. There are so many people suffering from mental illness nowadays. Patients with mental illness may be present in your family, in your relatives, or even in your neighbors.
Yes! It is a concerning issue as so many people never accept this as an illness and hence didn’t get the proper treatment and lose their lives. So, it has become very important for people to aware of mental health so those who are suffering can open up and seek help from others. Those who aren’t can take care of themselves and help those who are suffering.
WHAT IS MENTAL HEALTH?
Mental health is nothing but just emotional and psychological well-being. Having good mental health makes a person lead a happier and healthier life. Also, having good mental health gives a person the strength and courage to face adversities, hardships, and calamities so easily. There are so many factors that can affect the mental well-being or mental health of a person. It may be genetic or due to some incidents that have taken place in someone’s life.
WHAT IS MENTAL ILLNESS? AND HOW TO RECOGNIZE IT?
Mental health causes a disorder in or disturbance in behavior, thinking, and emotions. It makes it difficult for a person to cope up with the situation and circumstances of life. People having a mental illness or improper mental health may seem to be changed from what he/she was earlier to an unknown person to you. Maybe they start to spend time alone, easily get irritated on some smaller issues or start sleeping more, or suffer from insomnia, etc. There are so many things that can be noticed in a person suffering from mental illness.
Also Read, How to maintain positivity, balance and mental health
MOST COMMON MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS
There are two major types of mental health conditions that can be observed in persons suffering from mental illness. These two conditions are as follows-
ANXIETY DISORDERS- Anxiety disorders are observed in more than 18 percent of adults every year. These anxiety disorders include post-traumatic disorder, panic disorders (panic attacks), obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD), specific phobias, and generalized and panic attacks.
MOOD DISORDERS- Mood disorders include depression and bipolar disorders, suffered by almost 10 percent of individuals every year. Mood disorders also include difficulties in regulating mood.
HOW CAN MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS HELP?
Mental health awareness helps not only the person suffering from the mental illness and the other family members, co-workers, friends, etc. Ass if someone is suffering from such an issue, you can lend a helping hand to them at being their support. Some of how mental awareness bits of help are-
KNOW YOUR SYMPTOMS- Most of the people who suffer from mental health awareness don’t know that they are suffering from mental issues. So spreading mental health awareness will make them understand their problem. In every treatment, diagnosis is the first and crucial step. So, the symptoms may include- change in sleeping patterns, loss of appetite, suicidal thoughts, impulsive decisions, etc. Diagnosing these symptoms is of great help to a person as he/she can get the proper treatment in time.
MORE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH RESOURCES- This is another significant benefit of mental health awareness. As many people know about mental health, they will understand the need for mental health resources. And the presence of these resources will help a lot to the persons suffering from mental health issues to get the treatment and recover easily.
BREAK THE MENTAL HEALTH STIGMA- The best benefit or advantage of mental health awareness is that it will break mental health stigma. As more and more people will know about it, they will empathize with you rather than make fun. Also, it will create a sense of awareness in the people that having mental issues not always means that a person is crazy. Sometimes, seeking mental help becomes important, which doesn’t mean that the person is crazy or mad.
Also Read, Mental illness is more ordinary in urban India, as compared to rural India
HOW CAN ONE KEEP HIS/HER MENTAL HEALTH IN BALANCE?
The best way to keep mental health in balance is to stay away from the things you can’t tolerate. Keep yourselves calm, and don’t overthink. If you find some negative or stressful thoughts approaching you to turn your music system on, or go for a walk, or talk to friends, and the best thing takes a deep breath in and breathe it out. Also, if you observe someone having a mental health issue, do give them your company and be there for them.
