Mental Health and the stigma attached to it
hey everyone i’m ananya chauria
and i’m going to be throwing light upon
mental health and the whole stigma
attached to it
let’s start with some questions shall we
have any of you ever heard people say
things like
oh there is no such thing as a mental
illness it’s all for attention
or why is he depressed when he has
everything
or they want brought up well that’s
right you
all probably have because these
sentences are used so commonly in our
society
and this in turn has built a stigma
towards these illnesses
when there is no education imparted or
importance given to mental health
as you all know it can lead to serious
consequences
thinking about it it’s similar to covert
19 if you lose your sense of smell or
taste and do nothing about it
it could lead to serious repercussions
this serious consequence that mental
illnesses could result in
is suicide a topic that i hold close to
my heart
climate change technology and poverty
all these extrinsic subjects are talked
about
so commonly and moreover just given so
much importance
what i’m unable to comprehend is why are
the topics that are intrinsic given
equal importance
this truth about suicide and the whole
stigma attached to it
is devastating and it is something that
more people
need to throw light upon no one will
ever tell you that you are faking cancer
just for attention
so why is it that people think that
suicide is something that you do to gain
attention
when i was just 12 years old i remember
one of my close friends coming to me and
telling me that she
was suicidal at first i found it
extremely hard to believe
because she seemed just fine
the sad part about these cases are that
most people
seem fine that day i remember going home
and googling the words who said i
remember feeling shattered finding out
just how
many people took their life every year
i remember feeling this fear that i
would feel responsible for the rest of
my life
and i was left clueless there was this
constant contemplation in my head
was i supposed to break that trust and
talk to an adult
or was i just supposed to do nothing i
was 12 at the time
i really didn’t know what to do when i
began
to observe her closely i realized that
she didn’t seem to enjoy the things that
she previously did
she had become withdrawn and she found
social occasions
a real effort she couldn’t concentrate
on anything everything seems so bizarre
and new
i tried to think of all the ways that i
could help her
i couldn’t find anything i remember
feeling hopeless
and then one day i realized that maybe i
should just listen to her
and that was a trick my friend just
needed someone to be there for her
and i was i never let her go out of my
sight
and i was extremely conscious about her
actions and observed her emotions at
every point of time i’m proud to say
that i helped her through her journey
and today
she is just fine the point that i’m
trying to get to here is that
no one i mean no one has to ever lose
someone they love
someone they felt like they could have
helped if we all
want to make a difference we need to
start talking about our mental health
more openly
even today i i just can’t help but think
that if mental health wasn’t stigmatized
and openly talked about
maybe the 1.39 lakh suicides in
india would have been half maybe my
friend would have openly
talked about her struggles with
depression and she would have gotten the
help that she needed
maybe she wouldn’t have gone through
anything at all because she would have
found the help that she needed at the
right time
maybe all the people who felt lonely
during the lockdown
would have found that they aren’t alone
and gotten the help that they needed at
the right time
just like our yearly doctor’s
appointments we need to constantly check
in with ourselves
if we feel different or if we feel
unhappier
when we get a cough we know that we need
to call the pharmacist to get a cough
syrup
but why isn’t this the case when it
comes to mental health
i believe that people aren’t exposed to
it and often find themselves confused
upon how to handle it
it is a reality of the world today so
instead
of remaining in a state of denial let’s
all try and make a difference
i know a lot of people who have this
misconception that when a suicidal
person wants to take their life
they will this fuels the dangerous
notion that it is useless to reach out
to someone who’s suicidal
instead try being proactive and try
being there for them
and you too can save a life
let’s talk about certain statistics now
one
among four people according to a recent
survey conducted after the pandemic
that’s how many people within the age
bracket of 18 to 24
had seriously considered suicide in the
30 days preceding the survey
the pandemic has brought about this
unusual amount of stress upon us
and people don’t know how to handle this
the covert 19 pandemic is something that
is not limited to a certain space or
time
it can be seen everywhere and it doesn’t
appear to have an
end along with this anxiety looming
around the pandemic
there are added economic pressures
lifestyle changes
and just lesser social interactions in
general
openly talking about our mental health
does not make these problems go away
but it makes us realize that we aren’t
alone
and if required we do have the support
from our loved ones to go to therapy
or to find a psychiatrist the world
health organization states that close to
8 lakh people die due to suicide every
year
which is one person every 40 seconds
which means that as we are talking right
now almost 15
people have committed suicide which i
find
frightening to say the least i know that
this is a rather personal topic
but since we have spoken about the
importance of removing the stigma around
mental health
i am going to ask you this question as
though i was asking you if you had a
headache
have any of you ever had mental health
issues
this practice about talking about our
mental health openly
is essential in today’s day and age and
if we do achieve this
we are one step closer to breaking that
stigma
if we continue to discuss such topics in
our daily life
we can break the stigma and maybe we
will progress to become a happier world
mental health awareness in india is poor
no one considers this an actual illness
because people believe
it’s an act to get attention this
probably is the case
because many people aren’t aware of the
fact that our physical health and mental
health are equally important
according to a whole report 60 million
indians which is slightly more than the
total population of south africa
are suffering from mental disorders of
different kinds
there are many people in india who
consider their social status
much more important than their mental
health
this partially comes from the notion
that a person who has
a mental health issue has not been
brought up well
they are worried that you won’t find a
career or that you won’t get married
if someone had chickenpox i don’t think
people would think the same way
people don’t take their loved ones to
psychiatrists they say things like
a priest is enough for you they say
things like you are too sensitive
or beta it happens to everyone this
stigma
is the reason why many people don’t go
to their family or friends to seek help
this stigma is the reason why people
believe that they aren’t
normal stigma and segregation can
likewise intensify someone’s mental
health issues
and defer or block their finding support
and therapy
and the recuperation in general
and yes although i do agree that people
in india are finally getting more
comfortable talking about their mental
health
we still have a long way to go
the day that we can tell our boss that
we missed work because we had an anxiety
attack
that day we have broken the stigma the
day that we can talk to our friends and
family
openly with about our experiences with
mental health that day we have broken
the stigma
the day we realize that we all have
mental health
that day we have broken the stigma when
we know that the government is making
changes in its policies and helping
anyone who suffers from mental health
that day we have broken the stigma
the mental health situation in india
demands active policy interventions and
resource allocation by the government
to reduce the stigma around mental
health we need to measure
to train and sensitize the community and
this
can only happen when we have a
persistent nationwide effort
to educate the societies about mental
health diseases
people must be able to access the same
health care facilities as those with
physical health issues
now not everyone who suffers from mental
health issues resorts to suicide
so you can imagine how prevalent this
issue is
according to recent data collected 197
million people around the world suffer
from mental health issues
and 80 000 resort to suicide
people use excessive drugs excessive
alcohol and the list
goes on all these people feel alienated
from society because of the prejudice
around people who are mentally
ill and this sometimes fuels the fire
and can cause them to become suicidal
the truth is that a person of any caste
any race or any gender can face these
issues
you are not less likely to face these
issues if you have a good amount on your
paycheck
now these are the myths that we need to
remove
you are not less likely to face these
issues because you are married
now these are the myths that we need to
remove
everyone is susceptible to mental health
issues
because we all have mental health
looking at someone’s wealth
social status or family life does not
give you an insight towards how they are
feeling
we need to remove this myth from our
minds that only the less
fortunate face these conditions when you
succeed in removing these myths about
mental illnesses
you’re already 50 percent closer to
accepting and supporting them
we cannot keep these issues locked away
people who face mental health issues are
not less human
we are all entitled to negative emotions
scientifically too
what is aramadala for
the problem is not with them but rather
with us
and the solution is rather simple let’s
promise ourselves that the children of
the next generation won’t grow up in
societies like this
and this change begins right here right
now
i call it the mindset shift and there’s
two steps that you need to take before
you can say that you’ve accomplished the
mindset shift
now we’ve spoken about these two steps
throughout the speech
removing myths and spreading awareness
yes
it is that simple today let’s all take a
small step
to progress and become a happier nation
and this change can start within your
homes
within your friend’s circle or be within
yourself too
we cannot keep silent anymore
let’s start today thank you
you