On this specific day, it was so difficult for me to even get up because of the heaviness and constant watery eyes. Anxiety has eaten up my appetite as well, so I got no food the entire day. Nonetheless, just to divert my mind and distract myself from millions of pessimistic thoughts, I had to do something, so I got up and started piling up my files, but nothing helped. Finally, I ended up crying for an hour at least for no reason. I struggled to iron the clothes and get ready for some outdoor commitments; otherwise, I would have been in bed the entire time. This is all due to the state of mind that controls the way a person relates to other people, objects, memories, and experiences on a daily basis as the brain is an essential part of the body that holds memories for the development of human emotions and intellect. However, when these memories are abruptly halted due to the mental health of a person, they haunt him in many ways which is the reason why mental health should be a wake-up call for every human whether he or she is a child, an adolescent, or an adult. Mental health is an important component of health as there is a strong link between mental and physical health as both share the same environmental, social, and economic components for human development. Can you imagine a world where a third of the young population suffers from mental illnesses, nobody acknowledges the suffering that comes with these illnesses, and the government do little to help those who are in mental pain? Sadly, we live in the same world that is full of suffering and the terrible consequences that plague humans mentally (Ferro et al, 2021).
IMPORTANCE OF TOPIC
The topic is important for me because mental health is the thing that keeps me awake at night due to stress and anxiety. It often keeps me a prisoner at home when I feel stressed or have a bad day. So, instead of going over the medical proof, I have decided to look at this from the perspective of people who are diagnosed with bad mental health and myself as I often go through a troubled state of mind so I would explain my point in the best way. We live in a world full of adversities and challenges. So, getting anxious about a thing is normal for a human being. However, choosing how we will live in the world facing all the difficulties while maintaining our mental as well as physical health is totally up to us, and this gives us the control to react in a certain way in different life conditions without having depression or any serious mental illness.
Generally, talking about mental health is considered a stigma that is not addressed publicly due to the unjustified and uninformed stereotypes attached to it. Preconceived perspectives about mental illness make it a stigma for millions of people suffering from different mental health conditions and therefore their issues are not well-addressed. However, it is up to us as responsible inhabitants of the Earth to start transforming our viewpoints regarding mental health and its stigma in order to stop it plaguing our society.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Mental Illness during the Medieval Age. Early on, bad mental health conditions were believed by Middle Ages men as religious punishments by gods and goddesses or demonic possessions. Many of the trailblazers during that era sought to cure mental illnesses through administering certain hazardous substances and conducting non-religious techniques. Those ancient theories of mental illnesses due to supernatural causes, evil spirits, or demonic possessions, and their remedies range from mystical to brutal techniques to cure an individual’s suicidal thoughts (Overton et al, 2008). Over time, these theories changed and in the 1950s after the pharmacological discovery of antipsychotic agents and chlorpromazine world understood the gamut that the cure for mental illnesses is therapeutic.
The perspective of Positive Psychology
Positive psychology perceives mental health as a balance between daily human efforts and life activities to achieve psychological resilience for an individual to enjoy life. An individual who has “good” mental health has the strong potential of having good social as well as emotional well-being and this makes him strive to cope with daily life’s challenges. However, a person who does not have “good mental health” and struggles with his mental capacity every single day may be at the risk of having anxiety, depression, mood disorders, addiction, learning disabilities, relationship issues, or other illnesses of varying degrees due to “bad” mental health. However, positive psychology or holism suggests that mental health is a unique aspect of health and not a stigma that can be tackled through various treatment methods such as behavioral therapies applied for specific mental illnesses (Truskauskaite-Kuneviciene et al, 2020).
Bad Mental Health is a Global Issue
Chen et al (2022) explain that approximately 500 million people around the globe experience varying degrees of illnesses due to bad mental health that has existed in the world from time immemorial. This consideration of the number of people suffering from mental health deterioration is enough to claim that mental health and its stigma is a global issue despite one-third of developed countries offering help to cope with mental health difficulties through various sort of behavioral programs (Chen et al, 2022). This reflects the gravity of the issue and what governments around the world are doing for those who suffer from mental illnesses due to preconceived stigmatized notions. The number of programs implemented by the governments to tackle stereotypes that are affecting people shows the governments’ and concerned authorities’ lack of concern for those who suffer from bad mental health conditions.
Works Cited
Chen, Wei-Wen, et al. “Unhappy us, unhappy me, unhappy life: The role of self-esteem in the relation between adult attachment styles and mental health.” Current Psychology (2020): 1-10.
Truskauskaite-Kuneviciene, Inga, et al. “Positive mental health and adjustment following life-stressors among young adults.” Current Psychology (2020): 1-6.
Overton, Stacy L., and Sondra L. Medina. “The stigma of mental illness.” Journal of Counseling & Development 86.2 (2008): 143-151.
Ferro, Mark A., Ellen L. Lipman, and Dillon T. Browne. “Mental Health Care Costs Among Youth with Comorbid Mental Disorders.” The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research 48.4 (2021): 634-641.
