Youth and Mental Health
Every year almost 8 million people die due to suicide and 11.8 million people due to illicit drugs, smoking and alcohol. In countries like USA, Russia, Guyana and South Korea alcoholism, suicide and drugs are some of the key factors leading to young deaths. If we go through the statistics, the numbers are highly disturbing and alarming. Instant questions that arise in mind after going through the statistics are -
a) Is human life that cheap?
b) What is causing young lads to choose a path of darkness?
c) Why are we losing our young minds at a very early age?
Answer to all the above questions can be better explained by going through the concept of mental health and it's importance. So first, let's go through the concept of mental health.
What is mental health?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health is “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community".
In other words, mental health is no less than physical health. We can also say that mental health is more important than physical health as if a person is mentally healthy only then he/she can take care of his/her physical health. People often take mental issues for granted. But mental health is the key to success. Extreme change of moods, anxiety, emotional breakdown, disturbed eating and sleeping patterns, etc are some of the signs of poor mental health.
Human life is a mixture of many rights and wrongs. A person makes his life worth living with his deeds. In order to make the right decisions, a person requires a whole lot of knowledge which can only be attained if a person has a healthy mind.
Why is mental health so important?
There are various reasons why mental health is so important for an individual to lead a good life. Some of them are as follows :
1) Whatever lie, lies in the mind. The whole human body functions according to your brain. If a person is mentally sick, he can never be physically healthy.
2) Good mental health can help improve productivity in work and day to day life activities. Our mental health is responsible for our overall personality. A person with good mental health can impact and improve hundreds of other lives.
3) Our behaviour, our emotions and our attitude, everything depends upon our mental health. The way we feel and the way we respond to situations also depends on our mental health.
4) Good mental health ensures best relationships not only with people but also with other beings such as plants and animals.
5) Lastly, human nature tends to change every now and then. But a person lives his best when he is in a healthy state of mind. A person lives more, gives more, risks more, creates more, laughs more, eats more and leads more if he takes care of his mental health.
Now that we know what exactly mental health is and what is its importance, it is equally important to know which age group is the most affected by it.
According to research, the rate of suicide and drugs consumption is quite high among youngsters. Youth has reported more cases of suicide and smoking than elderly persons. Yes, you read it right. Youth, which is considered as the future of the nation and has the potential to many new discoveries is on a totally different path today. Technically, Youth is termed as the period between childhood and adult age. It is the golden period of an individual's life. In this span of life, a person is full of enthusiasm and vigour. A person from an age group of 18-30 years generally goes through a series of emotions, learns many new skills, get many opportunities and even looses some. But today if we look at our youth we will come across many such minds who are not at their best. Many of them are pressurized by their families to perform better than their mates academically. The intensive pressure of excelling in studies creates an environment of anxiety and fear among the students. Not only this, but many youngsters also end up into drugs and smoking because of a disturbed family. Multiple defeats in life and treason by loved ones also take away the peace of mind of many and they become chain smokers. Fear of missing out and loneliness also results in depression and sadness which again becomes a reason for frequent suicides.
However, there are many ways through which we can boost our mental health.
Ways to boost mental health
A person is responsible for his/her mental health and has every right to protect it and boost it from time to time. Some of the ways to do that are given below:
1) Eat right - Have you ever noticed that just by eating certain dishes you become all chirpy and full of energy. That's because the right food makes your life better. Just by having a spoon of your favourite food, you feel great. A protein-rich diet or a plate full of nutrients can do wonders to your system. Eat what you like and eat what is good. Can't believe it? Just try it yourself.
2) Meditate - Meditation is another great way of releasing stress and should be taken very seriously. In fact, it should be included in your daily routine. Meditation helps the nerves of the brain to function smoothly. Yoga is also another way of meditating and is beneficial for every age group.
3) Proper Sleep - A disturbed schedule can also cause a lot of stress sometimes. Proper sleep of seven to eight hours per day is very essential for the whole day functioning of the mind and body. People who take proper rest are found to be more stable than the ones who have an imbalanced sleeping schedule.
4) Think positive - It is said, "You attract, what you think". Positive thinking helps people take things in a much simpler way. You can only make through the hurdles of life with a strong will and positive attitude.
5) Spend time with nature - Nature is miraculous. When you get close to nature, you get to know what all life has for you. You come around so many views that you might not come around in a room. You will find so much peace and you will heal gradually.
6) Listen and read good - Music is again one of the best therapy. It relieves your mind and brings you in harmony. Not only music but reading good books too can help. Reading the autobiographies and struggles of people can motivate you to yet another level. It might make you feel that you are not alone in this.
7) Counselling - At last, if there is no way you are at peace and you want someone to guide you, you can visit a counsellor or you can just have a conversation with your closed ones about your mental health. You need not worry about what people are gonna think. Your mental health should be your only priority. You should always open up about your mental health to the right person.
On the whole, Youth has the potential to do miracles and the youth, if trained right, can move mountains. It is very important to motivate the youth in the right direction and so a particular day is celebrated worldwide as the international mental health day on October 10th every year. The day is used for awareness on mental health where thousands of people come together and bring attention to mental illness and it's major effects on people. It is an initiative of world federation for mental health, a global mental health organization working for mental health issues from last some years. Similarly, many other organizations are also working for such initiatives because someone rightly said, "You are only young once, and if you work it right, once is enough.
- by akansha singhal for Young Engine