In the past few months, the global pandemic COVID-19 has been a perturbing nuisance that changed our regular lives to never-ending uncertainty. People around the world are wrangling to survive more importantly to stay healthy. From major economic downfalls to deteriorating health systems, it has become a global challenge to remain stable as people are losing jobs, unable to meet their ends, and facing other social issues.
Alongside all these factors, one trending concern is maintaining balanced mental health. Not only during this crisis but also in other times, mental health has always remained under the shadow of ignorance. Most people are likely to have a misconception about mental health due to a lack of proper research and social awareness. There are other beliefs or assumptions considering mental health and mental illness the same.
In reality, mental health and mental illness are two distinct concepts. Moreover, mental health is still considered a taboo in prominent parts of the world. Before proceeding further, it is important to clarify the wider concepts of mental health.
Mental health is the state of psychological well-being, emotions, thoughts, ability to solve problems and overcome difficulties, balance social connections, and understanding the world around us. This is a basic understanding, however, people are not expressive about it due to the fear of being judged or mocked.
So, what good mental health refers to? Good mental health is a combination of a positive mindset and a sound way of thinking. It is more of ones’ ability to escalate the key functionalities and goals of daily life whether at home or outside. In other words, a good balance between your personal and social life activities.
But it is a questionable fact that why mental health deteriorates. There might be several factors like poor family relationships, unsatisfactory job life, the competition of life settlements, etc. For now, our focus is to enlighten about the social misconceptions regarding mental health and why people are unable to open up and end up doing something inappropriate like suicide.
More importantly, it has been more prevalent among teenagers and adults. A common scenario is, most teenagers tend to isolate themselves from their family and are too much into following their friends or social circle. They prefer to stay inside a cocoon thinking to solve it all alone. Insecurity and social non-acceptance add more to their misery. In most cases, they are driven away from a friendly discussion and are asked to stay normal or given advice that didn’t initiate a fruitful outcome. The need for responsiveness or understanding one keeping themselves in their shoes remained an unsated call.
It is high time, we addressed this trending fact and encourage open discussions raising mass awareness. It is crucial to come out of the myths related to mental health. Most importantly, an individual with poor mental health must admit the issue and show the willingness to ask for help.
Few researchers claim that people do not consider taking mental health counseling in fear of losing family or peer support. Whereas, the process of sound mental health development should come first from the family itself. Besides, there are improved techniques that teach you to think or respond to certain situations and feelings.
The World Health Organization (WHO) provided 5 key-tips to be mentally healthy. Such as:
- PAUSE. Breathe. Reflect.
- KEEP to a healthy routine.
- CONNECT with others.
- BE KIND to yourself and others.
- REACH OUT for help if you need it.
Remember, it is your mental strength and need to speak out for yourself. The better you learn, the better you care.