Mental Health Matters

Mental health is a person's condition that includes emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how a person thinks, feels and acts.

Growing up is difficult because we start developing a lot of emotions and are flooded with so much information. Due to the lack of conversation around mental well-being, it’s hard for the youth to open up and share what they might be going through. Half of all Mental Health conditions like depression, anxiety, self-harm, eating disorders, loneliness, and even suicidal thoughts, start at 14 years of age, but most of the cases are not detected and remain untreated.

The main reasons why the present generation is suffering from mental illness are:

Lack of Direction:

Finding the right direction is very important so that we are able to focus on our goal and take appropriate steps with full dedication. It has been observed that the present generation is confused between lots of options and find it difficult to take decisions.

Following the Crowd:

The one who follows the crowd may not be able to figure out what suits him/her the most, which leads to dissatisfaction and disappointment. It is important that we don’t confine ourselves in a box and instead look outside the box to explore new opportunities and grab them according to our interest.

Comparison with Others:

There is a tendency to compare ourselves with others. We try to do things that others are doing and when we cannot do better than them, we start considering ourselves inefficient and feel depressed. We should understand that maybe we are not good at those things which we are copying of others and that the other person is specialized in it.

 

Social Media:

In contrast to the various benefits that social media provides, it can also reduce your happiness. For instance, when you see other people’s pictures on social media, it appears that everyone is happier than you. You start posting pictures to show yourself happy even if in reality you may be sad. Furthermore, ‘Likes’ become so important that they become a sign of self-worth for you.

 

Not Taking Charge:

Many times we start depending on external factors for seeking happiness and then when things cannot be controlled, we experience pain in return. Happiness is a way of living and should come from within. We should take charge of our own happiness.

Conclusion

We go through disappointments, failure and even heartbreaks. It is completely alright to feel depressed, sad, and lonely but for a shorter duration, don't make these your FRIENDS.

If we have fine thoughts in our mind, optimistic perspective about everything, then we can easily cope up with whatever life throws at us. If we repeat anything, again and again, it starts becoming us. So, try to become an optimistic person and love yourself because “Self love isn’t selfish, it’s important.”

Written by Tanvi Gupta (Guest Contributor)

References:

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health#:~:text=Half%20of%20all%20mental%20health,%2D19%2Dyear%2Dolds.