Surprising, isn’t it? Well, that’s true, especially in India where it easily evokes panic and/or shame. People tend to equate the concept of mental health with that of having a mental health condition like that of psychosis, depression or anxiety. From a lay mans perspective; often mental health is something that one needs to bother about when one goes mad or crazy. But well, that isn’t true.
Mental health, if you ask experts, includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. To put it across in a simpler way, having a good mental health would involve feeling content, happy and being interested in one’s life; being able to accept and be at peace with most parts of one’s personality and managing one’s everyday responsibilities effectively. It would also involve being able to maintain good relationships with others; having a sense of belongingness towards the society and contributing to the society. WHO defines mental health as-
“a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.”
What is important to realize here is that mental health is in no way only limited to having a mental disorder. Moreover, neither would having a sound mental health only be limited to the absence of any mental disorders. In a nutshell, it is more to do with wellness rather than illness. This in no way means that a person with good mental health would never experience stress or would never face any problems that need to be taken care of. Now, this leaves us wondering about what then sets aside an individual with a good mental health from others?
One of the important markers of a good mental health is that the individual is able to understand and recognize his/her own issues and cope with them effectively before it gets too late. For anyone to do this, it is required that the person is capable of being aware of and understanding the situation; being in touch with ones feelings, thoughts, and drives and having the capacity to introspect. It would require being able to be genuine with oneself and going beyond, most importantly, being genuine with others. An individual having a sound mental health would essentially be able to have realistic expectations from self as well as others. While dealing with the world around, he/she would have the capacity to be empathetic and to understand other people’s needs and emotions.
Having understood what mental health means, it is now time to look at the next crucial question: Should we be really concerned about our mental health? In this constantly running world, is it essentially so important that we spend some time taking care of it?
When we ask this to ourselves, most often than not, we end up telling ourselves- Why bother? There’s no time for this right now. Let’s just push our thoughts and feelings aside and get things done. Surprising but true, right? We live in a society today where there are lots and lots of things to do, always. This in itself is a challenge, however, the saddest part is that, since our childhood, all we are asked to do is not cry, not be afraid, not ask questions and not to pause and think about what we are experiencing internally but to focus on what society as a whole wants us to do.
Sadly, over the years, we start telling ourselves these same things wherein our thoughts and feelings are seen as monsters that need to be pushed into a corner and caged away. Once someone said to me- “Is it not easy to keep doing what we are supposed to do and forget about what we feel, think or want? Feelings complicate everything and thoughts are tormenting”. Well, it does seem like the easier way as that is exactly what we have been doing for years and years together. However, let’s take a moment here to think about the times when we pushed away our feelings and bottled them up, when we didn’t pay attention to our needs or our thoughts. Were these moments easy? Did, not giving space to process your emotions help you become productive, to achieve your fullest potential? Most importantly, while doing this, at any time did you feel at peace? If your answer is no then it’s time to realize that your mental health needs to be prioritized. Of course avoidance does work wonderfully at times but most often than not it leaves us uncomfortable and distressed.
Today, let’s take a quick glance at our own mental health and pledge to keep it in at least one of the first three priorities of our lives. Lastly, remember that your mental health is as important as your physical health and your career.
