For the last few months every time I thought about my blog, I’ve felt guilty about how inconsistent I’ve been. I can come up with a million excuses to explain why but the one main reason holding me back was guilt. The guilt of not doing something I had promised myself – the guilt of not writing about the mind and more specifically mental health to help at least one person out there who reads my articles and feels a little less alone – made me avoid taking even the least effort of logging onto the site. There have been more times than I can count when I have thought about shutting the site down because no one cares about this. (P.S. Read: I didn’t put in the necessary effort.)
You see, I was wrong. My number of readers dropped from 162 in 2018 to 92 in 2019; but hey, this is what happens when procrastination, self-doubt and other things take the wheel and leave you in the passenger’s seat. I know the numbers aren’t large but the way I see it, it’s at least better than not having any at all.
I apologise for this and for the gaps I have been leaving in the narrative.
So what brought me back? You did not ask but I’m going to tell you anyway because why not! 😛
Well, you see, I was in a bit of a rough patch by the end of last year and start of this year because moving to a different country to study took a toll on my life, especially the social aspect. I started losing friends and interest in the things I generally enjoyed but more importantly, I started losing my sense of self. I was lucky enough to get help available at the time I needed it the most and taking it has been my best decision of 2019. I apologise to all those I’ve made uncomfortable in my attempt to feel a little less alone and a little less bitter about being away from my family and friends, but I am equally grateful to those who stuck around. Thank you for believing in me and not letting me wallow in self-pity. :’)
Moving on, with my mental health at a much better place than it was a year ago, I decided to “get back in the game”, mostly because there’s something I have been meaning to write about for a while now.
Did you know, as per the World Health Organization, India ranks 19th in the world for its suicide rate, while the U.S. stands at the 34th rank and the U.K. at the 109th from a list of 183 countries from around the globe? For some more interesting figures and statistics on suicide rates around the world, feel free to click the following link:
This is what I thought after reading the report (bear in mind that it was last updated in 2017 so that data may have changed), –
‘THAT IS A LOT OF PEOPLE DYING FOR A REASON OTHER THAN PHYSICAL HEALTH FAILURE!’
And would you like to know what is scarier?
Suicide is the most common cause of death for individuals belonging to the age range of 15 to 39 years.
Ever thought, why?
I am aware that people feel uncomfortable talking about death and even more uncomfortable when it’s suicide that becomes the topic of focus. But let’s talk about it today. Let’s talk about it now.
One of the main causes of suicide is poor mental health. Mental health problems don’t discriminate when they affect people. They are present and continue to affect people from every section of the society whether they are given the due acknowledgement or not.
Poor mental health could be a result of stress, major life events such as loss of a loved one, loneliness, dissatisfaction at places of education or work, and/ or a number of other causes but you get the idea. We don’t know what affects someone and why but what we do know is that there is always help available. If not you, there is someone else who is willing and capable of providing the necessary help and support to someone who is suffering from emotional distress. The least we can do for an individual who is hurting is to not dismiss their thoughts and feelings as unimportant or temporary.
What else can we do to help? I’m glad you asked! 😉
We can listen to the person and encourage them to share their thoughts and express how they feel without presenting them with our opinion on their problems. Sometimes people require just a listening ear than a piece of active advice. But hey, don’t forget to take time out for yourself and your life activities when you offer to support someone who is hurting.
If we feel uncomfortable being the listener, due to whatever reason, we can refer them to someone else who we think is better equipped to provide the required help. This not only reduces the pressure from us to be always available to someone who needs a listener but also guides them towards getting professional help which could be exactly what they feel they need.
A very common statement that comes to focus at this point is that sometimes, going to a psychologist or a psychiatrist can be highly expensive, which is a very fair and valid point considering the fact that the therapist to client ratio is highly uneven.
Here’s some good news! There are community centres and online organizations that provide free mental health support. All it takes to get help is to reach out in the right direction. Google searching nearby mental health facilities and support groups, and asking your physician are the easiest ways to gain access to it. It is important to remember that when people feel suicidal or commit suicide, they do not necessarily want to end their life, they want to end the pain. And as citizens of the global community, the least we can do to make the world a better place is just help ease that pain by just being there, as nothing more than a friend, a fellow human being.
To end?
BE KIND; IT DOES SAVE LIVES.
Mind it?! 