The paradox of mental health.
Crisis is an opportunity that cannot be wasted!
Such has been the current trend due to the worst ever pandemic that’s hit the planet in the last 100 years. We all are staying home more than ever. There’s no chance of happily going to a bar on a Friday night or as simple as watching your favorite movie in a nearby theatre or for a matter of fact even have a peaceful visit to a temple/church/mosque. With no absolute possibility to burst the stress off, people, as I observe, find this as an opportunity to focus on mental health more than ever.
While it’s a positive sign, I am writing this to express my concern over the way it’s being handled.
Imagine the vaccine for covid is really out and things get back to normalcy. If you are someone like me, the first thing you do is plan to go on a good holiday. Let’s just assume that’s exactly what you are doing now at this very moment where in you have a flight to catch in the next one hour. Upon reaching the airport, you make sure that there are no items which are made of glass or any other fragile material in the check-in baggage. Even if you happen to have a bag with one, you make sure to inform the concerned person to apply a FRAGILE tag. By doing so, you accept that the glass is easily breakable.
We do this because even small amounts of mishandling can break the glass. Hence, by adding the tag FRAGILE, we are making sure that the bag will not be mishandled. In fact, we expect it to be handled with extra care. I personally find nothing wrong here. This only looks good as long as you apply to objects. But I see the same thing’s happening now with people and mental health.
In the process of taking care of mental health, many are involuntarily adding a FRAGILE tag to it. Similar to our glass example stated above, the minute the FRAGILE tag is added to mental health, we already accept that this can be easily breakable too. While it’s one thing to take good care, it’s inappropriate to give more attention to it than required.
Does it mean we all should stop prioritizing mental health? No! That’s not the crux of my perspective. I myself am a firm believer in becoming mentally fit. I prioritize it enough such that I meditate regularly and even maintain a diary to often pen down my emotions. The point is that, instead of treating it as a fragile object in an overly cautious way, think of it as a resource. A resource that’s eager to get tough and better everyday. Having the courage that it can be repaired even if it breaks is extremely crucial.
The mental health quotient can improve only when one believes that there is a possibility that it can improve. By adding the fragile tag, I am not sure if people believe in that possibility anymore and that’s the major concern. Do not add a fragile tag and get succumbed to every little problem. It is okay to be cautious but it drains you in more ways than you can think of if you are overly cautious. Treat it with priority but don’t take it so very seriously to an extent that people out there are now trying to commercialize the very concept of mental health.
You might ask.. ‘hey kaushik, are you saying that by not giving extra importance to mental health, we can indirectly benefit out of it?’
Yes, that’s exactly my point. You can’t protect yourself from hardships. You can only be prepared for it.
As they say mindful living is the way forward, let it flow. Let there be problems. What ever is it that you are currently going through is not the only problem that you might face for the rest of your life. This is just another one. Learn to deal with it, get better in the process, and that’s how you prepare yourself for the next one.
The bottom-line is that, mental health, is not about taking that extra care and reaching to a state of nirvana. But, to be open and okay for hardships because you are already strong enough mentally in handling them.
Do let me know your thoughts. I’ll be really interested to discuss about it. :)
