What exactly Is Mental Health?
Somehow, mental health seems to have defined itself as something that exists if a person’s make-up is devoid of any recognizable mental defect. So it is only if a disorder makes itself visibly felt that there seems to be a problem of mental health. However, this is not really the case. We all need to be aware of our mental health and take care of it. It is a rather ostrich approach if one thinks that just because one does not suffer from a regular psychological disorder, one is mentally all right. The fact is that any aberration in one’s mental health has far-reaching consequences. It really is the sitemap for good health in every way – physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual.
In spite of the fact that mental health is so important to our well-being, we hardly ever pay it the attention it needs. It is only when things spiral out of control mentally that we think of getting some kind of treatment to make us well again. The main problem seems to be that even when it comes to research and scientific advances, the mind is still as much a mystery as it was. Most problems are speculative and most curative methods seem inconclusive. Even with our physical well being in the hands of science that is so advanced, we just cannot open our minds to the vital role that mental health plays or should be playing in our lives. There are still no established or conclusive lines or courses of treatment for most mental and psychological disorders.
There seems to be a general lethargy about the mind. It is almost like we are saying that if there’s nothing that seems to be wrong, don’t rock the boat, just leave well alone. Part of the problem is that there is no quantifiable data when it comes to the mind. You can measure your red blood corpuscles in the blood, you can take your temperature at home and know exactly what it reads, you can go for a blood pressure reading and know what steps to take. With the mind however, it’s a guessing game. There’s hardly anything physical that you can measure and pronounce the fact that the person has a reading of 10% mentally ill. No way. Everything’s a feeling and everyone reacts in varying degrees to the same triggers of stress, trauma, negativity.
What is even worse is that mental health is shunned by society. You could have high blood pressure and it would be all right. However, you suffer from depression and you’ll find yourself being edged out of society. Sadly, no one understands or equates it with a physical disorder which is what it ultimately is.
Let’s take a look at a few of the signs that could suggest a mental disorder. Very often, people suffering from such problems will seem unduly distressed for no apparent reason and this could go on for a long time. They could be moody and have sudden mood swings, again for no apparent reason and their thinking could be disjointed and disrupted as well. Very often, their social graces leave them and they tend to become recluses. There could be drug and alcohol dependency as well.
There is really no hard and fast rule but there has to be a change in our social sense so that we realize that mental health is a matter of concern and should be treated and managed just as one would any illness instead of banishing the person who is suffering from the mainstream.
