Whenever I sit down to write about mental health I get so muddled up, never being able to figure out where to start, how to stop, how to be as woke as possible without losing the authenticity of thought. But this time I thought let’s just start and see where it goes.
My tryst with the mental health saga began when I opted for psychology as my major in undergrad. It was the woke-st (don't be a grammar nazi here) out of all the arts streams and offered a wide professional scope and blah blah. My only reason for taking it up back then was (besides the fact that I wanted mass comm. and no colleges in my city were good enough for it) that my favourite sister too was studying the same subject. So, I took it up and what followed was equal parts thrilling and petrifying.
Growing up under the aegis of my mother who could observe the heck out of you and tell you your favourite coffee in a few days’ time just by being around you, we had acquired the acumen. But, after studying psychology that acumen sharpened, broadened my horizons and gifted me an extremely fresh and pragmatic perspective.
It was all still theory until I took up a job that involved understanding human behaviour and mapping it through various touchpoints. Advertising furthered the skill to observe and learn, be able to fathom consumer personas without ever having met those people.
It was all fun and frolic until slowly I could observe negative patterns of behaviour, habits that were becoming addictions, thoughts that were hindering with people's physiology, their everyday functioning, illnesses that were under a sparkly facade. It seemed very new and ignorable until it hit me.
Until I developed these patterns, thoughts, illnesses.
The conversation magnified as the pandemic hit. Mental health became the hot topic, rightly so as people crumbled under extreme health anxiety, were feeling depressed due to extending work pressure and the pressures of a household and so much more that went on, which finally made people and organizations realize that it was important to focus on mental health. It was important, now more than ever, to allow one to feel vulnerable and also enable them to pick themselves up.
My mother always said "मन के हारे हार है, मन के जीते जीत” (Mann k haare haar hai, man k jeete jeet!) Translating to "you win if you can win over your mind or loose to its might." This meant everything now.
"मन के हारे हार है, मन के जीते जीत”
As the world struggled with a deadly pandemic, every household including my own, struggled with mental health issues that had long been repressed.
We were so glad that the conversation was picking up. But do we only converse about it? Where do we take an action, how do we take it forward?
There may not be a linear solution to it, but there sure is a solution. We can take care of people's mental health by considering them human to start with. Being kind and genuine to each other, lending an honest ear to someone who needs to express his or her feelings, being present for someone who is struggling with mental health and making them feel like they aren't alone are a few very simple and underrated actions and gestures.
If you feel that someone needs help, is struggling with issues like lack of motivation, anxiety, panic or is not feeling like themselves, ask them how you can help, provide them with options or show them the way to get professional help. Remember, do not become a counsellor yourself.
This mental health day, let's put conversation into action. And in a world where you can be anything, be kind :)
Comments