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she had become withdrawn and she found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