What is mental health? Why is it so important?

May is observed as mental health awareness month with the purpose of raising awareness about mental health among people.

In western countries people are aware of how dangerous mental illness can be and understand the importance of mental health and give priority to it equally has physical health but in countries like India mental illness is considered a stigma.

According to a study “Globally 20% of youngsters suffer from mental disorders and in India, only 7.3% among 365 million youngsters suffer from such problem” but further studies revealed that this was not the real numbers because 90% of the people in India who suffer from mental illness such as depression, anxiety, bi-polar, eating disorders, post-traumatic depression, etc. do not come out because of the social stigma.

 In this article let us understand what mental health is? How important it is and how we can help people suffering from mental disorders.

What is Mental Health?

Mental health involves our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences the way we think, act, feel, and how we deal with life. It also determines how we handle stress, face challenges, and make decisions. Mental wellbeing is important at every stage of life, for us to grow and to be happy.

What is Mental Disorder?

A mental disorder is a very serious condition that can affect your daily life. It will hinder you from your daily life, draining your energy, and impact the way you think, behave, or mood. Mental disorders can be occasional or very long-lasting.

Mental illness and physical illness are no different from each other. Physical illness restrains your body from working and mental illness restrains your mind.  Mental illness should be given equal importance and should be treated in the earliest as possible otherwise it is going to take dangerous turns in one’s life.

Mental illness can be cured just like curing physical illness but with therapy people who are feeling unstable and feel very low can consult a doctor and take therapy.

Why is Mental Health Important?

According to World Health Organization, “450 million suffer from mental illness such as depression and as of 2020, it is the second-largest disease in the world.

Mental illness affects you and your life in every way possible. So, mental well-being is very important:

• Physically active
• Have healthy relationship
• To cope up with stress
• To be productive
• To make a positive contribution to the society

What Triggers Mental Disorder?

Once in our lifetime, we get hit by mental instability, and some of the reasons its triggers are:

• Family history
• Biological factors such as genes
• Trauma or abuse
• Stressful life
• Losing loved ones
• Social disadvantages
• Loneliness
• Discrimination
• Unemployment

Read More: Preventing the spread of coronavirus

Signs That Indicate Mental Illness

Anyone can be suffering from depression and anxiety but you may have failed to recognize it. These are the red flags of mental illness:

• Withdrawing from people
• Change in sleeping pattern
• Eating too much or too little
• Feeling low and drained
• Having unexplainable pain
• Hopelessness and feeling numb
• Severe mood swings
• Always on the edge
• Constantly hearing voices in the head and believing what is not true
• Self-harm or suicidal thoughts
• Not able to perform daily activities
• Smoking, drinking or using drugs to a bad extent
• Always arguing or having emotional breakdowns

How can you help someone suffering from a mental disorder?

Getting help at an early stage is very important to cure mental illness.

• Act like you normally do, don’t be distant towards them
• Tell them you are here to listen
• Listen to them without making any judgments
• Do not force them to talk if they are not ready
• Ask open-end questions which will encourage them to open up
• Encourage them to seek professional help
• Offer emotional help
• Assure them everything is going to be okay
• Be patient and tend to their needs
• Cheer them up by taking them out or spending time with them doing something they love.

Where to get help

If you are hesitant to speak about it out loud you can seek help anonymously. Various online platforms offer free consultation services.

• 7 cups

Trained professionals volunteer to listen to people who are suffering from mental illness and help them. However, if you want a licensed professional you can also upgrade to their paid service.

• Bliss

This place is perfect for people who are not ready for therapy yet. Bliss offers eight free sessions that are completed on your own- it helps you to monitor your mood, stress, teaches you how to handle the situation differently, and various other techniques that will help you cope up with your disease.

• PTSD Coach

The app helps people who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder to recognize their problems through self-assessment and offers professional help.

Also Read: Tips to boost your immunity