Mental Health Awareness Month: Why You Should Take Care of Your Emotional Well-Being?

Posted On: 2024-05-03 10:23:40

Mental Health Month was started by Mental Health America in 1949 to raise awareness of mental illnesses, their importance and how we should take care of them. Since then, May has annually been observed as Mental Health Awareness Month throughout the world. Film screenings, forums and local events are held throughout the year to mark Mental Health Month.

 

The theme for the year 2024 is “Where to Start”. In the words of the website, the theme is ‘for anyone struggling with the pressure of today's world, feeling alone, or wondering if they can feel better, this is Where to Start’.

 

To mark the beginning of Mental Health Awareness Month, we will be talking about mental illness in today’s article. In India, mental health is still a new topic, with ignorance widely prevailing and some dismissing it as fake. However, mental health is as real and important as our physical health.

 

 

Mental Health isn’t a new age phenomenon, it has existed throughout the century. But in the past, it was linked to supernatural causes and believed to be caused by gods, evil spirits, or curses. 

 

For example, in ancient Mesopotamia, mental illness was often seen as a punishment from the gods for moral transgressions, and treatments involved appeasing the deities through offerings and rituals. In ancient Egypt, mental illness was sometimes attributed to possession by evil spirits, and treatments included charms, amulets, and rituals to ward off these spirits.

 

It was only through the development of modern psychology and psychiatry that scientific understanding of mental health began to emerge. 

 

Now that we have busted the myth surrounding mental health, we will look at how dangerous mental illnesses are:

 

Mental health not only impacts your mood and well-being but can also greatly affect your physical health. Various conditions like cardiovascular disease, weakened immune function, gastrointestinal problems, and other physical health issues have been linked to depression, anxiety, and chronic stress.

 

People with mental health conditions are also at the risk of committing suicide. It doesn’t discriminate as anyone from a rich CEO to a farmer has committed suicide due to depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses. Another major symptom of mental illness is substance abuse, as people with chronic mental illness are known to resort to alcohol, drugs, or other substances as a coping mechanism. 

 

Other symptoms of mental illness can include impaired functioning, which means inability to function at school, work or relationships and social isolation.

 

To know more about mental illnesses, media and literature can be of great help. Movies like Qala, Requiem for a Dream and Aftersun are some films that make you understand mental health. Books like 

You'd Be Home Now by Kathleen Glasglow, Chaos Theory by Nic Stone and The Beauty That Remains by Ashley Woodfolk can also be of great help.

 

Filaantro understands the importance of mental health and has conducted sessions in schools to help students with them.

 

Thank you for reading this article. Make sure to share it with all your friends and family members

 

Author: Adil Sayyad