In my neighborhood lives a chirpy, bubbly young girl of 16 named Kriti. She’s been living in the colony for 8 years now and their family is on friendly terms with everyone. They have time and again proved to be courteous and helpful people. However, the last time we had them over for dinner, something they said put a permanent blot on their otherwise spotless reputation in the eyes of few. The mother mentioned that due to the ever increasing academic pressure, Kriti was feeling some mental pressure and they had taken her to a reputed psychologist. I found the family to be exceptionally adequate, I could feel the majority of the gathering judging them on the poor parents looking for support on their upbringing and had mentally labeled the poor girl to be a social pariah. This was just a one of many incidents where people assume it to be a matter of disgrace to be associated with, let alone themselves consult mental health doctors. As a result, helpless people, who need our support the most feel abandoned at this critical juncture of their lives that might lead to irreparable damage.
This social taboo related to mental health stems from our deep rooted beliefs coupled with the lack of awareness. The reason, already unacceptable in this day and age of unlimited access to knowledge, works infinitely worse in the case of these individuals with such delicate mental state. What’s more, it’s completely illogical. Our brain is an organ of our body, just like any other, more important than others owing to the exhaustive functions it performs. It is only natural that like any other organ, it is bound to need repairs when it breaks down which it very possibly can when overburdened. There is simply no sense in continuing this ancient segregation of body parts and their repairs.
A complete overhaul needs to be done to cut off this evil from the root. Awareness is the first step and it should start right from primary school, where kids should be taught about mental health, and the options available in today’s advanced medicine. Further, they should be encouraged to discuss this with elders around them to remove the stigma associated with it.
Kids need to know that it is completely fine, rather healthy and positive to be aware of their mental health and discuss it freely just like any other injuries. People need to realize that mental health patients need to be celebrated for the inner battle that they fight every day. The world needs to realize how hellish it is inside their brain and empathize with it; to be human.
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