Beyond Stigma and Taboo: The Urgent Need to Normalize Conversations About Mental Health
With regards to Mental health, we all grow up with an Ostrich in Sand like attitude. All of us deal with mental health issues at some point of time – either on a mild degree or more severe degree. Yet, often we not only ignore it but belittle mental health issues (To be fair maybe often unintentionally or without meaning contempt). We usually try to view and address mental health issues as problems of personality and character. People who commit suicide are cowards, people with anxiety are crazy and so on and so forth. Now let’s not start blaming and demonizing society. This is probably because of a general lack of awareness about mental health which make us breed such naive notions about it. This ignorance further complicates things by giving rise to stigma about mental health.
What further relegates the issue of mental health, especially men’s mental health (statistically suicide rate among men are more than that in women) are stereotypical notions and beliefs which we imbibe and ingrain in us from early childhood. Things like-Boys don’t cry, be manly, don’t be sad, don’t cry and so on. And as a result we become masters at suppressing and ignoring our feelings and emotions. We equate doing that to the idea of being happy all the time. This continuous suppression and ignorance of our feelings have a detrimental effect on our health which in the long run can lead to unfortunate outcomes.
Maybe we can start tackling mental health by acknowledging and addressing the unpleasant, undesirable experiences that we have inside us right now at this moment – a feeling of sadness, feeling of fear, and feeling of nervousness, anxiety or hopelessness. Maybe a sense of disinterest in life is playing in the minds of many at this moment. Hey. It’s alright. There’s nothing sinful weak or unnatural to have such feelings. Acknowledging them, sharing them, talking about them significantly reduces the burden of struggle with those feelings. No wonder a progressive step was taken when Suicide was de criminalized under Mental Health Act 2017. The way we view and react to symptoms of mental illness need to be normalized.
Mental illness continues to be a major killer in India (More than Covid 19). One way we can deal with it is by reading about it making ourselves and our loved ones more aware of it. It’s a battle that most of us are fighting and struggling with irrespective of the roles we play in our lives, role of a strong father, a caring wife, a supportive friend, a leader, a successful entrepreneur or even a soldier. Ignoring it for too long or addressing it in an unscientific and casual way can further aggravate it leading to disturbing consequences. Mental illness is NOT a sign of weakness. Roman Military General Mark Antony committed suicide. Legendary Boxer Muhammad Ali, Champion Swimmer Michael Phelps and scores of other like them had to seek professional help for clinical depression. So for a while let’s look beyond the stigma and taboo.
