-Kashvi Jaggi
“Never give up on someone with a mental illness. When ‘I’ is replaced by ‘WE’, Illness becomes Wellness.”
If you ever heard someone being called ‘insane’, ‘mental’, ‘crazy’, ‘delusional’, ‘depressed’, ‘schizophrenic’; you would probably shun away from the conversation or subconsciously judge the person who is at the listening end. Mental health as a topic in urban India never makes it to the discussion table and if it needed any mention, it is only spoken rather uncomfortably or kept a hush-hush affair. Even though people know there are some issues that need to be addressed, sweeping it under the rug seems a more feasible option than visiting a psychiatrist or psychologist and earning one of the coveted titles aforementioned. Whereas in rural India, it is not uncommon to see people take their children or family members to temples and god-men rather than doctors and hospitals.
A countrywide National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences (Nimhans) study has revealed a shocking prevalence of mental illness in India. At least 13.7 percent of India’s general population has been projected to be suffering from a variety of mental illnesses, and 10.6 percent of this requires immediate intervention. But before we start self-symptomizing ourselves or others, let’s understand what is mental illness. A mental illness is a physical illness of the brain that causes disturbances in thinking, behaviour, energy or emotion that make it difficult to cope with the ordinary demands of life. Research is starting to uncover the complicated causes of these diseases which can include genetics, brain chemistry, brain structure, experiencing trauma or having another medical condition, like heart disease. The two most common mental health conditions are Anxiety Disorders and Mood Disorders.
Good mental health is more than the absence of a mental health problem. Abnormal is the new normal in today’s quid pro quo life. Everyone is trying to be the best and stress persecutes to most of us. A child in school is faced with competition and induced to high-level comparison to outperform his or her peers to the limit that there is a significant percentage of teenagers who take their lives by suicide as they think this is the only option rather than facing the world. An intern tries hard to prove her worth. A grown man deals with emotions and feelings of inferiority while struggling to impress his boss at work. A working woman is facing a dilemma to grab the top management level position while dealing with domestic violence. An elderly couple is failing to understand how their habits are child-like when they are growing old and need assistance with their daily chores. All of them are trying to convince themselves that this is all an experience of the game called life and it’s not that big a deal. If anyone of them were having a severe cold, they would visit the doctor, if they had chest pains, they would visit a cardiologist, but they refuse to stand up to the ongoing stigma and visit a mental health practitioner.
In a growing society such as India’s, mental illness is still perceived with a stigmatic tag. As accepting as people may seem superficial, there remains a dab of shame when dealing with mental illness. This is where, as seen in multiple societies, pop culture steps in. In India, particularly, a pop culture entity as big as cinema plays a crucial role in influencing the masses’ mindsets. From disseminating information regarding lesser-known subjects to shining light on issues cornered in societal foundations, cinema is very influential. Some that have helped people understand certain mental health conditions include; Dear Zindagi which highlighted the major battles that an adolescent goes through ranging from heartbreak to parental pressure; Fight Club which portrayed the fight that is encountered by a person having bipolar tendencies; Taare Zameen Par for showcasing dyslexia and My Name is Khan to make us aware of Asperger’s Syndrome. Movies have always made people feel less alone in the world. They make them feel like there is always someone out there who understands. Who has gone through the same things as they have? Who fights the same wars as they do. Who just gets them.
Maybe the people at Walt Disney & Pixar did understand the importance of breaking down the complexity of things people feel and explained it in their movie ‘Inside Out’ which showed that the brain has feelings like Joy, Anger, Fear, Disgust, and Sadness. The most important thing the movie taught us is that without sadness, there would be no joy. People need to embrace their sadness and treat them with love and care. Friends and family also play a very important role in recovering from mental illness. Therefore, the next time you feel that someone needs to talk, be there and listen; if someone needs help, take them to the shrink without rebuking them. We can blame Westernisation for the rise of mental health issues or, like Rakhi Sawant, blame the poor ceiling fan for increasing suicide rates, but it does not change the fact that our society is in a state of constant flux. We need to bring about a shift in our attitude and develop a more open mindset on mental health. In the past, many of us lost the battle against mental illness by letting our fears get the better of us. We need to identify our concerns and stop judging the inner voice inside our head that begs us to speak to someone.
Not all wounds are so obvious. Walk gently in the lives of others.