Mental Health – An Unnoticed Factor
Today, mental health is a highly important subject that requires careful discussion, which can empower people to come forward and get themselves checked.
By Arjun ANAND
“What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candour, and more unashamed conversation.” These were the words of the famous American actress, Glenn Close, and I cannot agree more.
After listening to the speakers that the school brought in to share their stories with students as part of the Writers’ Fortnight activity, I identified the general, recurring theme of mental health.
For various reasons, the topic of mental illness has been part of a major social taboo going back to medieval times where people were simply diagnosed as ‘possessed’ when they exhibited different signs than what was considered normal. As seen through the lack of discussion over the last few decades, people avoided talking about psychology and mental illness even though discussing it is the crucial first step towards eradicating or treating it. Mental health is commonly disregarded, society labelling people who suffer from it as ‘crazy’.
The most impactful mention of mental health came up in a lady named Ms Anderson’s talk about her daughter-in-law (X) and grandson, Child (X).
After giving birth, her daughter-in-law began to experience unexpected mental changes. She was suffering from bipolar disorder and paranoia and lashed out at her husband and son. Ms Anderson’s son (X) separated from his wife, who refused to give Child (X) up to other members of the family. Everyone who knew about the situation had suggested rehabilitation, but even after attempts at therapy, she did not make any improvements.
These incidents had a devastating impact on her child. Child (X) is stuck with her, regularly shifting from one house or school to another, unable to find a constant in their almost non-existent social life. This situation could have ended up very differently if her daughter in law had been treated the moment signs of mental illness were seen.
Coming from a country like India, I have seen firsthand the way people avoid the discussion of such a topic. It results in a lot of shame and fear in them. Instead of getting themselves checked or treated, they hide or suppress their situations, which has a crippling effect on them.
I have seen many friends deal with domestic abuse on a regular basis. The use of physically abusive means to enforce discipline is very common in Indian domestic culture, passing down from one generation to another. The children try and convince themselves it’s for their own improvement, but the negative impacts it has, outweigh the possible benefits. It slowly impacts their mental health, but because of the social conditioning they’ve grown up in, they hide these changes.
Shamefully, I, myself, looked the other way when some of my classmates in my old school acted differently. Maybe it was because I also thought it best to avoid such people. They behaved weirdly and acted antisocially, but I never even tried to look at the situation differently and consider their point of view. I didn’t really do anything substantial to support them, which has impacted their personality today. The fact that I missed out on the opportunity to help is one of the reasons I think it’s really important for me to try to give importance to mental health.
According to statistics published by Our World In Data, as of 2017, only 10.7% of nearly 800 million people suffering from mental disorders got themselves checked. What left me feeling worse was when I realised that the 800 million mentioned only counts cases of mental illness that have been detected. Many more individuals’ suffering goes undetected.
Mental illness is a much bigger problem than we perceive it to be. In some way or another, many people have traumatic experiences that shape their mental health. Whether it’s bullying in school or some form of domestic abuse, some kind of negative incident has a major role to play in the way people turn out. A study by the Institute of Mental Health of Singapore showed that 1 in 7 people in the country has experienced some kind of mental disorder. I believe that it is important for people to understand that there is no shame in having an issue of this kind. Coming forward actually shows courage, and sometimes gives confidence to other people hiding away.
Mental health is something which requires care and sensitivity when being dealt with. We never know who may be dealing with their own issues. Being considerate goes a long way in such situations. I believe that the world is changing and with the new generation and more awareness, a new wave of society, hopefully, a more accepting one, will allow issues like mental illness to be taken care of easily.