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In the year 2008-09, I came to know about mental health issues. We faced a situation in our family that left us stumped. Initially, we didn’t know what it was. So, it was tough to decide on what to do. We dug deeper into the problem and found it was about mental health. The worst part was it was something people didn’t feel comfortable talking about. As a kid, I felt strange to digest the stigma around mental health. The stigma exists because we don’t have enough knowledge, understanding and awareness about it. We brush things under the carpet. Even as families and friends we don’t talk about it openly. The incident triggered me to know more about mental health's what, why, and how.
And since then, I’ve been intimately connected with the mental health ecosystem. Let me talk about some important points. If you pause and briefly analyse any condition related to mental health, you’ll find it is somehow related to emotions. So emotional well-being is essential. You know, the little things matter, like how our words make others feel or how we deal with emotionally exhausting life challenges. Having said that, one can suffer from mental health issues even if everything is fine. Just like in physical cases where a person suffers from cancer even if he hasn’t touched tobacco.
The worst thing is we have a pathetic infrastructure for mental health issues. Aisa hai na ki jab koi crime report karna hota hai we can dial 100. For an accident or physical health emergency, we can dial 102. But what about mental health emergencies? What if someone is feeling suicidal? What number should we dial in case of such emergencies? You know, in such critical conditions, we can change their thoughts about suicide after talking to them for around twenty minutes. But, sadly, we’ve no number to dial. I know a few people who operate independently to help the victims. Lekin unke pass itne calls aate hai ki wo sabhi ko help nahi kar paate. Shouldn’t our government take this crucial issue seriously, launch a national helpline number, and work on some projects to bring awareness?
As for my part, I’m hosting a podcast called ‘The SOS Show’. It’s about mental health and has been successful in having listeners from India and across the world. Recently we completed the 109th episode of the podcast. Each episode has been a great learning experience for me and my audience.
A healthy lifestyle is vital to keep away mental health issues. Meditate or read books like Altered Traits by Daniel Goleman. It will help a lot.
Recently, my documentary was released on Humara Movie. The documentary features four chapters titled:
* Going To School
* Mirror Mirror On The Wall
* The Second Coming
* My Mom
Each chapter features women with real stories on mental health. Do watch it. You’ll get a fair idea of some shades of mental health issues.
We’re glad to partner with Humara Movie. They release a film every week. And we feature the story of someone behind the film. After all, everyone has a story.
Delhi Stories is an emerging platform to feature inspirational, motivational, relatable and beautiful stories. Do you also have an interesting story like Suchita?
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