A Letter of Hope and Mental Health
Mental Health decides your overall well-being. In recent times, primarily due to the ongoing pandemic situation, we all have been cooped up at homes for a long time. This has taken a toll on our mental health.
Generally speaking, this sector of health is often overlooked and ignored by society, for the simple fact that it is not readily perceivable like other ailments.
Unlike fever or fractures, mental states don’t have an easy diagnosis. People can go on for days with depression, anxiety, stress, OCD, bipolar, or other severe conditions, without any detection. Often the people who suffer these conditions find it difficult to reach out. They might have a lot of friends, loving family, and dear ones, but still, it is not unusual for them to feel utterly alone in this world.
In many societies and cultures around the world, mental health issues are looked down upon as taboos or with many prejudices. People make assumptions really fast and quite quickly and reach conclusions about a person’s mental state. A common word encompassing all issues is psychoticism. However, just like any ailment generalization is unscientific. Every person is different, and so are their mental health states.
The fear of stigma makes the person suffering from any mental condition, retract to their shells, and prevent people from finding out the turmoil inside. This deteriorates their health further until it is difficult or too late to pull them back out into the mainstream normal life.
We all tend to believe that we are completely capable of helping these people, but how much of that belief is true? Sometimes, the easiest thing you could do is listen, yet, for many of us, it’s just a bit too much to have that much patience actually to listen. As I believe that listening is a virtue, whether it’s a counselor or psychiatrist, therapist, a friend, or a family member, most of these people ace at hearing, but very few know how to listen for real.
Every person grows in life, passing their own set of trajectories, encompassing the good, bad, and ugly. Some incidents inspire us for life while some scar us beyond repair, how we handle all of these, mentally, physically, and emotionally gets reflected in our mental states. It is not easy to process all of this; that’s why many people end up needing help. But the world and society at large got to understand that needing help is not a sign of weakness. In fact, only the bravest of souls out there have the courage to ask for help when needed.
If you are feeling down, or just can’t help those tears from falling, or simply feel that no one understands you, trust me you are not alone out there, all you need to do is seek a kind pair of ears to listen to you. It’s okay to cry and let it out, no matter what the world says, there is no harm in expressing your inner emotions.
Be compassionate, understanding, and empathetic towards others’ needs as well; you never know how miracles work. When you light one candle, you can end up lighting the whole colony through its brightness and always remember what Dumbledore said: “Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.” So believe that your life is your Hogwarts, and if you genuinely believe in it, magic still exists even in the darkest of corners.
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