Month: October 2024

Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is the foundation for emotions, thinking, communication, learning, resilience and self-esteem. In simple words, Mental health is the absence of any mental disorder or disabilities. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. People are generally more focused on keeping their physical body healthy. Most of the people ignore the fitness of their mind. The way we fall sick physically, we can fall sick mentally too.

Mental illness or Mental disorder is the instability of one’s health, which includes changes in emotion, thinking and behavior. It is a condition that affects our thinking, feeling, mood and behavior. Mental illness can be caused by stress or reaction to a certain event. It can also be triggered by various factors such as social disadvantage, trauma, poor physical condition, abuse, or genetic abnormalities. They may be occasional or long-lasting. There are different types of mental illnesses with different symptoms. Some examples of mental illness include depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders, bipolar disorder, panic attacks, OCD, etc. There are nearly 300 mental disorders listed in the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). Globally, around 1 out of 7 people have one or more mental disorders. According to the research done in 2017, almost 792 million people have mental disorder in the world. Due to the pandemic, the rate of people with mental disorders has increased a lot. Millions of people struggle with different mental illnesses every day and most people commit suicide due to their mental problems! More than 700,000 people die by suicide every year, which is one person every 40 seconds.

Nepal is a country full of different cultures and traditions; but when it comes to mental illness, each of these culture shares the same concept. In Nepal, most of the people think that suffering from mental illness is the same as being mad, becoming unfit to remain in society and the family, due to loss of control over self, or even being possessed by a ghost or a black magic. People with mental illnesses are often made fun of or been discriminated.  In most cases, people with mental disorders feel like they are not fit to be part of the society. People who don’t get enough physiological help tend to commit suicide. Almost 6,840 suicides are committed annually in Nepal. Not only the society but the government of Nepal also hasn’t taken any meaningful steps for the people with mental problems. The number of mental health care professionals in Nepal is low. According to a report by the World Health Organization Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems there are 32 psychiatrists in Nepal. According to the constitution of Nepal, Article 35 ‘Right relating to health’ but there is no mention of mental health! There is no separate mental health legislation. The law in Nepal continues to define mental illness as madness.

Half of the population of Nepal struggle with mental problems but only few people know what they are suffering from. Most people don’t even know what mental disorder is. When we try to express our feelings and tell someone that we have some kind of mental problem, then we are told that we are dramatic, that we are not mature enough to have any kind of mental illness. People still think that only “mature” people can have any mental illness. Teenagers are made fun of by their own friends when they try to share their emotions. The main reason that most of the teenagers are getting out of track is because people don’t understand them and their feelings. Everyday people commit suicide just because they have no one to tell them that, whatever they are feeling is normal, that they are going to fine, everything is going to be fine. But instead, people are indicating the people with mental illness as mad and dramatic. In countries like the USA, there are counselors in every school to help the students with mental illnesses but still 6,241 teenagers commit suicide annually! And in Nepal, we are not even taught about mental health and how can we expect the teenagers to be perfect? Teenagers get involved in illegal activities like taking drugs to get away from their mental problems.

Whenever I was around people I always felt anxious. I felt like I’m being judged by everyone. After doing some research about my situation, I found out that I have social anxiety. I’ve had it for a long time but I had no idea. After finding out that I have social anxiety, it’s been a lot easier for me to overcome it. I still feel kind of anxious around people but I’ve been more confident lately. What I mean to say is, to overcome something firstly we need to know what the root of the problem is!

In school, we are taught Health Education but Mental health Education is not taught. Mental health education is as important as Health education. In this era, only health education is not enough, we need mental health education too! As I have mentioned above, people don’t know much about mental disorders and its symptoms. And we cannot get cured if we don’t know what the illness is. School is a place where we learn about different topics, and now it is high time that school administrations add a new topic to our curriculums “Mental Health Education”. Mental health education is so important, but I see no one talking about it. We need to spread more awareness about mental disorders. Different programs or campaigns related to mental health awareness should be conducted monthly or once in 6 months. The government must play a vital role to aware people about mental health. Mental health awareness can save lives. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth aged 15 – 24. Bringing awareness to the symptoms of depression and other mental illnesses can help teenagers identify these issues and seek help before it is too late. By including education on mental health and information on how and where to access help, school can quite literally save lives. Mental health education in schools is extremely valuable as it can positively impact the lives of our children and youth.

People need to understand that, mental illnesses are normal as physical illnesses are. According to a research, 40% of the physical illness is caused due to mental disorders. Mental illness is not something to make jokes about! It is a serious topic. People need to understand that people with mental illness want to be understood not made fun of. . What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, and more unashamed conversation. It is okay to not be okay! Your Story matters.

Apekshya Upadhayay (Aavya)