Busy Addressing Issues: Is Mental Health on The Priority List?
By: Anisha Masand
Tags: Compassion, Deep Dives, Anxiety, Perspective, Mental Health

Quit the Stigma. There is always time to learn.

Oh, it is a tireless cycle: poverty, infrastructure, salary cycles, workplace harassment. So many issues to resolve before mankind becomes a better race. Did you think of mental health? Is it important? Is it worth addressing? If not before, open your eyes now. A pandemic hit the world, but its people are suffering much worse. Isolation, quarantine, losing jobs, losing minds — a vicious cycle that has taken over our lives since the past couple of months.

Mental health is important. The disruption of one’s state of mind can cause harm that may be irreversible. Why are we so ignorant to these situations? “Oh, she’s just anxious, she’ll get over it”, “Oh, he’s just angry, he’ll calm down”, or my personal favorite, “It’s all in your head, love!”; are these just statements to avoid dealing with an actual issue?

I am an anxious person. My heart beats faster and faster at a job interview, or when I am about to upset a family member, or when I see something happen in front of me that crushes me inside. I am an angry person, because I have no control over my words, my actions or the consequences that follow. I am also an erratic person — I have some brilliant days, and there are days I don’t want anyone around me. I suffer from headaches — spasms. Similar to occipital neuralgia, but still to be determined. The stress from work and other social aspects got to my head, and I have uncontrollable and excruciating shots of pain in my head. For the longest time, I told myself that they’re just headaches and I need another coffee. Two years later I decided to treat it. Turns out it’s a very weak nervous system. That the nerves in my head have inflammatory issues. It drove me up the wall. I gave up driving for a while, I was afraid to consume alcohol, or be in loud places, terrible shakiness every-time a spasm would strike. But it is a physical ailment; it can be cured before it gets too late (And yes, I am treating it!).

But when someone tells you they feel sad, and that they are not able to control how much they sleep. They look glum, and see you less and less often. What do you say? It’s just a phase? It’s okay, maybe he or she needs time. But, how often do you check in? To see if they’re doing alright? To see if they need any support?

If you do, I am happy you exist in this world. If you do not, what is keeping you so busy that you can’t send a text message?

Anxiety is more than being too sensitive. Depression is much bigger than just being sad. Bipolar disorders are dangerous; they aren’t just mood swings. And hey, anger can get the best of us, and it may be too late to turn it around. There is so much more to mental health than these. There are disorders that can turn a person’s world upside down; make them think that they are never good enough, that they are wrong, and that they do not matter. Three months into the coronavirus pandemic, we learnt of so many young souls taking their lives — all because there was no one to check up on them. No one to see if they’re doing okay, or to notice that something’s up.

More than a strong economy, we need to figure out how to take care of one another. The art of empathy is the toughest lesson we have to learn. And often times than not, we tend to learn these only after the inevitable has happened. Why wait? Today is as good as any other day. Make it a point to always check on your loved ones. Anyone. Someone that has trouble being by themselves, someone that needs another to talk to. Be the person that someone can depend on. Trauma is hard; no one should have to face it alone. Today, many corporate offices have their own therapists, that their employees can visit at any time of the day. There are psychologists, psychiatrists and therapists that work tirelessly on Zoom calls, where a personal visit is not possible, to ensure that their clients are doing alright, or more than. There are volunteers that make sure animals are fed — why can’t we volunteer to make sure a soul is fed?

The social opinions surrounding therapy, and all that comes with it, are disgusting. No other words describe this better. What shocks me is how little people think of another’s state of mind. There is an increasing demand for services that provide care for people’s mental health, and there are still psychological blocks against the concept — because, what will people say if I send my kids to therapy? What is so bad that I, as a parent, cannot take care of? Hey buddy, if there are issues that you cannot resolve, IT IS OKAY. You are not superhuman, you are a parent. Do the right thing. Don’t let your kid grow up thinking it is shameful to reach out for help. People are really afraid to ask for help, because of the judgement that’s passed. The opinions that are openly given.

You should not be ashamed of mental illness; you should be ashamed of the stigma and bias that are held against it.

Take COVID-19 for example, our new best-friend. When someone is diagnosed as a positive case of coronavirus, what is your first instinct? Stay away from them, or we will get infected! Do you ever think — how will they manage with no grocery deliveries? We should send them food; we should call them and see how they’re doing. We can always just leave stuff at the door; they need the help.

A few people would do this, but the majority, would stick to the former. Flip the situation — would you like it if someone behaved that way if you were infected? The best way to understand mental health is to flip the situation — how would you feel if you walked a day in their shoes? If you rode around the entire day with anxiety, or with anger, or with a sadness that nothing might overcome. It is exhausting, it takes you over. It changes you. But what matters at the end, is the hand that reaches out? That says, hush you tired soul, I am here for you, I will take care of you, and I will love you.

The root emotion for any support you try to offer to a person suffering from mental health disorders, is love. If you show compassion, you have already completed the first 25% of what you are trying to achieve. Love is above and beyond. Love is present in every stage of our lives, in every action we undertake; at the beginning of our lives, and at the end of it. In some or the other way.

So, I urge you, if you are unaware of mental health issues in depth, start reading up, researching, like me. If you are, do your bit. You don’t know how much of this world you save by just reaching out to a mere few. Make mental health a priority, because no world functions with just an economy; you need people with a healthy mindset. You need compassion to survive in a world as bitter as ours.

And for those that suffer from an issue, know this — you are not alone. You always have someone, or something to hold on to. Life is long, stay strong, and be brave. Take your time, and heal your soul.

And always remember, as Glenn Close says, ‘What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candour and more unashamed conversation’.