Monday, January 3, 2022

Mental Health is Health - Dr. Sangeetha Madhu and Ms. Neethu Sara Joseph

What constitutes well-being when it comes to mental health?

Is it about using the best coping techniques, having our defensive mechanisms in control, and being sure that our physical and emotional baggage is empty?

The Challenge

Mental health is often considered as being on a binary scale of yes or no- either we are mentally healthy or not mentally healthy. Sometimes the process of addressing the mental health concerns disregards subtle nuances & plural roles /identities, thereby leading to the stigmatization of the concerned person. When people are compelled to absorb stigmatized identity/ role, it can give rise to feelings of shame, guilt, agony, and apathy from a community perspective.

Mental Health: Beyond All or None

The essential task ahead is to remind ourselves that caring for our mental health is a continuous process that will vary over time-based on certain internal and external factors like our mood, certain triggers, anxiety stemming from it, and a variety of other variables in the moment. Each and every individual is unique and understanding the mental health spectrum is critical in order to build an inclusive engaged community. Raising our collective awareness on evidence-based scientific knowledge on mental health concerns, destigmatizing conversations regarding mental health, sensitizing portrayal of mental health in mainstream media, and building a supportive community to thrive at workplaces and educational institutions will provide a future ensuring establishment of a catalytic community with the ingredients of empathy, kindness, and compassion!

References

https://positivepsychology.com/mental-health-continuum-model/

https://www.rewriting-the-rules.com/self/mental-health-beyond-binaries-ladybeard-panel/