World Mental Health Day

“It’s okay not to be okay. It’s okay to ask someone to help. It’s okay to open up to someone. You can talk to me.”

These are some phrases that are extremely easy to say. These are all you need to let someone know that you are there for them, that they are not alone. But sadly, these are not frequently said by many. Mental health is not given as much importance as it deserves even though it is equally as important as physical health. In fact, if a person is not mentally healthy or fit, the effects are visible on his physical health as well. No amount of fresh fruits or exercise can make one happy if he is not mentally fit. Depression and anxiety are some common mental health problems faced by people around the world now. People are at an internal war every single day with themselves and prefer to fight alone as they cannot seem to trust anyone. While they achieve loneliness and cut themselves off from everyone, it’s the loneliness that eat them up slowly as the negative thoughts slowly take over.

The World Health Organisation recognises 10th of October of every year as the World Mental Health Day. It was first observed on the 10th of October, 1992 as an annual activity of the World Federation of Mental Health. The overall objective of this day is to raise awareness about mental health issues around the world and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health. WHO comes up with different propagandas
every year in order to highlight the importance of mental health and to advocate against social stigmas regarding the same.

As estimated by WHO, the burden of mental health problems in India is of the tune of 2,443 DALYs (Disability Adjusted Life Years) per 100,000 population, and the age adjusted suicide rate per 100,000 population is 21.1.

India is one of those countries where mental health is still somewhat neglected. Even if the youth recognises this issue, they have no one to talk to as adults deny their claims. “Its all in your head” they say. But exactly! That’s the whole point. Adults till this date cannot seem to come to terms with the fact that their child could be going through mental health issues. This is because of the lack of awareness about mental health. Adults see all the mental health issues as disorders or an illness while in reality those are completely different things.

Mental Health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It severely affects how we think, feel and then act. It completely determines how we handle stress, and most importantly, it influences our decision-making power. When a person has mental health issues, they tend to make decisions that affect their life and also of people around them. They withdraw from the normal environment and prefer their own personal space, as the thinking of the society and the claims of these issues being a taboo makes them not trust anyone and finally feel ashamed of thinking and feeling differently.

The quote above clearly proves how painful it is to go through something like this. Still there are people out there who put on fake smiles and brave faces so that the world doesn’t find out about their inner turmoil. They suffer in quiet and alone as



It’s the youth itself sometimes that fails them, just because they haven’t gone through or experienced the same thing. Friends, whom we turn to, when we are failed by family sometimes fail to understand and empathise because they haven’t gone through this. They can’t seem to understand why a person would be at war with himself/herself and make their own life miserable. They ask for reasons, reasons that led them here, to such a condition. But those reasons end up being far from what their minds can comprehend. That results in, them brushing off the whole condition, unintentionally. Even though they want to help, they can’t, because they just don’t understand.

“I knew people who had suffered from anxiety and found it kind of hard to understand, but then when it hits you, you’re like, ‘Oh my God, what is this?’ “
– Shawn Mendes, Canadian singer

Mental health is real, and we have to live with that so we can overcome it but the first step towards our victory is to face it, to embrace it. Awareness and support of mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood to adolescence through adulthood. There is no age that is completely safe from facing mental health issues. The World Mental Health Day gives us that opportunity. The opportunity for the ones suffering, to share and open up, ask for help and give life another chance. Let’s make mental health important, by spreading awareness and by talking, being there for someone we care about. Let’s help them fight their monsters. Let’s make this world a place where they don’t feel ashamed to open up and ask for help.