Ever since the dawn of the ‘Corona’ pandemic has cast its dark shadows in the entire globe, ‘health’ has been a rising concern. The health industry is indeed gaining popularity and flourishing ever since its inception.
Where on the one hand people are getting inclined towards their physical health and nutrition, the most crucial aspect of anyone’s wellbeing that is Mental Health has been sidelined and ignored to our convenience.
Do you know that your brain that constitutes 2% of your body weight consumes 20% of your total energy alone? Hence it becomes truly vital to invest this 20 % energy in one’s best mental health.
”There is no health without Mental Health.”
Rightly said. You cannot function optimum unless you have a stable and peaceful mind. World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes 10th October as the ‘World Mental Health Day‘ in order to create awareness about it. But it shouldn’t be restricted to one day. In current times, mental health is a subject of everyone’s concern and to be spoken of on regular basis.
So let’s throw some light on the limited knowledge that we have on mental health and the solutions for improving the same.
What is Mental Health?
Mental health has also been defined as a state of wellbeing whereby individuals:
- Are able to recognize their abilities.
- Are able to cope up with the daily normal stresses of life.
- Work productively and fruitfully.
- Contribute to their communities and complete their responsibilities easily.
Now let’s have a glance at the journey from a healthy mind to an ill mind.
- The healthy mind: Most of the people who fall into this category are most productive, energetic throughout the day. They cope up well with the daily life circumstances and have a good sleep.
- The affected mind: In today’s dynamic world where being mentally stable and tough is really hard, most of the mortals fall into this category. Feeling irritable, getting overwhelmed, getting anxious and feeling worried, getting forgetful are some of its signs.
- The injured mind: This is the third type of mind’s state. In this state person gets angry without any reason, gets panicked often, feels fatigued, and gets restless.
- The ill mind: This is the ultimate stage where people feel withdrawn, aggressive, depressive, and anxious. The person into this stage loses interest in life and the activities that were enjoyed earlier seem useless and annoying.
Noticeable changes of a person who undergoes mental illness
- Changes in the behavior: They seem to be negative and lose interest in daily activities. They don’t feel like laughing and cheering or engaging with their near ones.
- Perceive problems in day to day life: ‘All looks yellow to a jaundiced eye’. This phrase suits well to them. They see everything happening around them with a negative perspective. They happen to see faults in everything. ‘Why does this happen to me every time?’ This seems to be their most favorite dialogue. They become habituated to mourning and cursing the circumstances.
- Changes in thinking: They feel alone and lonely. They feel like no one understands them.
- Emotional highs and lows: They suffer through sudden excitements and disappointments. They get possessive about certain things, people, etc. The people around them need to tackle them with love, care, and patience.
Let’s burst out the myths
- Mental Health disorders are caused by black magic, evil eye, or past life karma.
- Mental Health issues are a part of western culture only.
- If you have bipolar disorder or schizophrenia you are doomed.
These are some myths existing in our society. People are unaware that there is something called mental health that needs to be taken care of. Mental issues need to be addressed, spoken of and appropriate care should be taken by talking to a professional in that field. It shouldn’t be made fun of.
People often fear approaching a psychologist or a psychiatrist if they feel any of the symptoms. Maybe it’s due to social pressure like what people may think of them or out of disbelief in mental health.
It’s essential to seek help whenever required. The professionals have a detailed case study before arriving at any conclusions.
Common Mental illnesses include depression, anxiety, trauma, and stress-related disorder, substance use disorder. It so happens many times where people get addicted to unhealthy substances like alcohol, nicotine, etc. These substances have a ready effect on the chemicals in the brain. This creates a neurological imbalance. If this persists, it may lead to serious mental disorders in the future.
Treatments for mental illness
- Psychotherapy
- Group therapy
- Allied therapy
- Medication
- Psychiatric hospitalization
- Support groups
Invest in your Mental Health
- Have a nutritious and balanced diet. You are what you eat. Whatever you eat reflects outside as well it has an impact on your inner self.
- Exercise regularly for a minimum of 30 minutes. It releases the ‘endorphins’ aka the happy hormones into your system.
- Have a proper quality sleep for about 7-8 hours.
- Practice breathing techniques in order to slow down your thoughts. It reduces overthinking and anxiety issues.
- Practice the ancient technique called Tratak. This consists of concentrating continuously on a lighted Diya or lamp. This practice is known for higher concentration levels, achieving a stable mind, peace, and tranquility.
- Avoid multitasking and taking every job that comes your way. Have a clear mind on your priorities. Don’t hesitate to say a No.
- Learn essential life skills like time and stress management
Thought Diary
Start maintaining a thought Diary. In this journal, you write down 3 things at the day’s end.
- What happened in the entire day?
- What did you do over a particular happening?
- Your plan for the next day.
This practice will help you channelize your thoughts more effectively. It will help you recognize your vital tasks and segregate them accordingly saving your time and confusion. It will also help you remember things and avoid the habit of forgetting.
These are a few simple things one should definitely give a try for.
Until they stay happy and keep reading!
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