International Mental Health Day

International Mental Health Day – 10th October

I believe we give so much importance to body rather than our mind. I see it everywhere! I recently visited my neighbors and their five-year-old boy was ready to get to bed. He was standing on the stool and brushing his teeth.

He fell down, his leg was scratched. He cried for a minute but then he got up and reached out to bandage box to put that on covering his crack.

A five-year-old was aware of maintaining physical hygiene by brushing his teeth every night before going to bed. But I wonder what do we know to maintain our psychological health? Nothing.

Teeth > Emotional Hygiene.

Injuries like failure, Rejection, Loneliness they can impact our life in dramatic ways yet we don’t pay much attention to such issues. It’s time to close the gap between your physical body and your mind.

I will be answering frequently asked mental health related questions in this article.

1. What is Mental Health?

Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, behave. It also helps to determine how we handle tough situations, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.

2. What are the common symptoms of Mental illness?

• Loss of appetite
• Low mood (every single day for more than 3 months)
• Sleeplessness
• Excessive fear
• Confused thinking.
• Hopelessness

3. When is the right time to see Counselor/ Psychologist/ Therapist?

Sometimes our coping skills fails us. They simply stop working or become far less effective.

Friends/ family are tired of listening to your problems. They are there with us most of the time, in good and as well as in bad. But sometimes a friend can also feel overwhelmed by your problems.

You observe yourself trying to blame someone for something. You try to talk behind someone’s back, if something doesn’t go well according to you. You constantly find faults in someone else’s behavior.

4. What can happen if Mental health is not taken care of?

Let’s say if you have stomach pain for 6 days straight. Aren’t there chances that you might end up having major issues with maybe intestine or kidney? Similarly, if you do not take care of mental health on the right time, there sure are chances that you might end up having major issues.

5. How can we take care of our mental health in our daily routine?

• You can take out 20 minutes each day and journal your thoughts before going to bed.
• You can schedule a worry period where in you are supposed to think about the worries and not solution in the decided 10 minutes. You are not allowed to think about the worries in the entire day.
• Make a distraction list where in you will write easy/ quick things that will distract you from the irrational thinking. Such as- listening to your favorite song or walking from your study room to balcony and observing different patterns in the skies.
• You can try guided meditation. 1) Calm, 2) Headspace, 3) Insight timer are some great free apps for mediation.
• Give one hour in a week to watch your favorite match on the TV/ Dance your heart out, call your long-lost friend and check up on him/her or cook a meal for your family. Do something that makes you forget the time.
• Practice Mindfulness.

6. How can we educate ourselves with Mental Health?