Introduction

Mental health awareness : As you may know, around one in four people experience a mental health condition at some point in their lives, and yet the issue is so widespread, fear, misconception, and silence continue to surround them. The topic of mental health awareness has long been overlooked, with many sufferers still living in silence and hesitant to seek help.

Mental health awareness is key to changing the situation. It encourages people to take care of themselves, educates the community about the symptoms of mental health conditions so that those who struggle can be understood and get help. In this article, we will see why mental health awareness is important for society and how we can contribute to building a free-thinking society.

What is Mental Health?

Mental health is about our emotional, psychological and social well-being. It directly affects how we think and behave, and plays a role in how we handle stress when dealing with others. Mental health is not just the absence of mental illness; it is a spectrum that affects people in different ways, at different times in their lives.

Common disorders of mental health:

• Depression: This is a mood disorder that causes persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and loss of interest in activities. It is accompanied by physical symptoms such as fatigue, poor sleep, and difficulty concentrating.

• Anxiety disorders: These include fear of loneliness, generalized anxiety disorder, and social anxiety. People with anxiety disorders experience many physical symptoms such as constant worry, fear, palpitations, sweating, dizziness, etc.

• Bipolar disorder: Mood swings, extreme sadness, and difficulty functioning in daily life.

• Schizophrenia: This is a serious mental illness characterized by distorted thinking and delusions. This condition causes difficulty distinguishing between reality and fantasy.

Stigma around mental health

The negative attitude towards people with mental illness in society is the biggest barrier to mental health care. This social attitude often prevents individuals from seeking help. There is also a fear of being labeled as “crazy or insane”.This negative attitude is fueled by social and cultural expectations. Male-dominated culture makes it difficult for men to seek help. The illness is kept hidden. Mental health is still rarely discussed in the family or society.

Due to this, sufferers are struggling a lot, going through bad experiences, and therefore do not come forward to seek treatment. This makes the situation worse, we read examples of this in the news every day, we hear that suicides and family problems have increased due to mental stress. However, today we see many prominent people sharing their own experiences on this topic, how they struggled and overcame this situation. When such people take the initiative, it will send a good message to the society and people will not feel ashamed to ask for help to create mental health awareness.

The impact of mental health on individuals and society

Untreated mental health disorders can have a negative impact on a person’s physical health, family, work, and education.

• Personal impact: A mental health condition can also affect a person’s daily functioning. It can make it difficult for them to speak, work, and express themselves like other people. Such a condition can deprive them of social rights as an individual.

• Mental health in the workplace: Due to lack of mental health awareness can lead to a number of problems in the workplace, including poor performance at work, absenteeism, and reduced economic growth. Mental health problems can lead to problems such as lack of progress at work, ineffectiveness at work, and reduced economic growth.

• Social Impact: Untreated mental health conditions can lead to accidents or crimes, as well as addiction. This can lead to widespread problems that have a direct impact on society. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), approximately 1 in 5 people in the U.S. experience mental illness.

Symptoms of mental health issue and how to get assist

Mental health issue:

Early identification and timely treatment of mental health problems can prevent many future problems. Persistent stress and worsening symptoms may require the help of a mental health professional.

•  Mood changes: Feeling depressed, angry, constantly feeling sad.

•  Withdrawal: Not functioning socially or isolating yourself from family and friends.

•  Behavioral changes: Becoming addicted, neglecting family and social responsibilities.

•  Physical symptoms: Insomnia, headaches, indigestion, and fatigue.

•  Difficulty concentrating: Memory loss, lack of concentration

How to Assist Someone with Mental Health Issues:

While it can be challenging to support someone struggling with mental health, there are many ways we can help them to mental health awareness.

• Listen without judgment: Understand their feelings before you impose your opinion on them.

• Encourage professional help: Encourage them to seek help from a mental health professional and help them find it.

• Educate yourself: Offer empathy by understanding their situation.

• Check in regularly: Encourage and ask questions about their treatment regularly.

Lady Gaga (A famous American Singer, Song Writer & Actress) share the experience of mental illness in 2014.

“My own trauma in my life has helped me to understand the trauma of others,” Gaga said in an interview with the “Today” show. “I told the kids today that I suffer from a mental illness. I suffer from PTSD. I’ve never told that to anyone before, so here we are.”
Gaga did a meditation exercise with the young people to show them how she deals with stress.

“Meditation helps me to calm down,” she told the group during her visit. “I don’t have the same kinds of issues that you have, but I have a mental illness and I struggle with that mental illness every day so I need my mantra to help keep me relaxed.”

Conclusion

Creating mental health awareness is not just a trend but an opportunity to create a sensitive society. By using this opportunity, we can remove misconceptions about mental health from the understanding and help the person going through this situation by giving them social rights and trying to give them personal freedom.

As a society, we can help them by making it easier to talk about mental health awareness to support such needy people. We can create a world where we can talk openly about this topic, share experiences and give importance to mental health as well as physical health.