Photo by Matthew Ball on Unsplash
Many people’s views and reactions toward mental health issues negatively. On several occasions, I have discussed this topic with friends. First, it irritates me when I listen to phrases they use in reference to people with mental health. For example, lazy, to refer to someone who has depression; or crazy, to someone with low self-esteem. These comments mostly come from a woman friend toward another woman.
Second, if we know of someone attending sessions with a psychologist, we assume that their life is on the edge of a cliff, or that they have a terrible life. I have learned that our ignorance and misunderstanding are likely the reasons for our misconceptions of the mental health concept.
Unfortunately, people with mental health conditions regularly experience violations of human rights, discrimination, and stigma. This is what my friends do.
So, how do we define mental health? The American Psychiatric Association states that “mental illnesses are health conditions involving changes in emotion, thinking or behaviour (or a combination of these). Mental illnesses are associated with distress and/or problems functioning in social, work or family activities”. Mental health conditions include mental, neurological and substance use disorders, suicide risk and associated psychosocial, cognitive and intellectual disabilities.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), suicide mortality is high (close to 800 000 deaths per year), disproportionately affecting young people and elderly women in low- and middle-income countries.
I ask myself over and over, do my friends realise or know that someone with mental health issues can be on this list of suicides per year? When I was depressed, I never thought of suicide, but I didn’t eat or sleep for many days. In addition, I did not have the energy to do anything.
I had mental health issues years ago, but I was lucky that it did not develop into a deeper problem. One of the main reasons for this is that I had a lot of support from my family members and friends. Thanks to all. The second reason is that I didn’t care what people thought about me. And lastly, I realised that my well-being was my priority.
I know it’s not easy to understand someone who has mental health issues; however, from my experience, if you have not lived it or have someone close to you with these issues, then I recommend that you please:
-Don’t judge.
– Start with yourself, the discussion and questions about the problem.
-Don’t be reactive; instead, be proactive.
-Read about health awareness to increase understanding and reduce stigma and labels.
– Ask the person you want to help about his/her situation, don’t gossip about it.
Today, as we celebrate World Health Day, let us remember that we are human beings; therefore, we all can have mental health issues, so let’s TAKE CARE OF OURSELVES.
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