Every 10th October yearly is celebrated worldwide as World Mental Health Day.
The theme of this year 2021 is titled of this post: Mental Health in an Unequal world.
What a theme!
According to Alancia Menezes, inequalities in mental health may arise in various forms. There is an unbalanced distribution of access, quality, awareness, stigma, laws, and resources with respect to mental health among people. For example, a person from an economically backward class may not have the money or privilege to look after his mental health while he tries to get through each day in order to provide for his livelihood. People belonging to communities where mental health services are looked down upon may have difficulty to ask for help. Moreover, even the quality of mental health facilities varies from place to place and country to country given the quality of education and resources utilized to build professionals in the field. These are all examples of the structural inequalities that affect mental health.
Mental health problems can affect the way you think, feel and behave. Some mental health problems are described using words that are in everyday use, for example ‘depression’ or ‘anxiety’. This can make them seem easier to understand, but can also mean people underestimate how serious they can be. However, despite these challenges, it is possible to recover from a mental health problem and live a productive and fulfilling life. It is important to remember that, if you have a mental health problem, it is not a sign of weakness.
A mental health problem feels just as bad, or worse, than any other illness – only you cannot see it. Although mental health problems are very common – affecting around one in four people in Britain – there is still stigma and discrimination towards people with mental health problems, as well as many myths about what different diagnoses mean.
There are also a lot of different ideas about the way mental health problems are diagnosed, what causes them and which treatments are most effective.
Then, what is Mental Health? The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined mental health as a “state of well-being in which e very individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.”
“Mental health is the emotional and spiritual resilience that enables us to enjoy life and survive pain, disappointment, and sadness. It is a positive sense of well-being and an underlying belief in our own and other’s self-worth.” (Health Education Authority, UK.)
What causes mental health problems? According to Mind for Better Mental Health Journal: Understanding Mental Health Problem Journal , mental health problems can have a wide range of causes. In most cases, no one is sure precisely what the cause of a particular problem is. We can often point to things that trigger a period of poor mental health but some people tend to be more deeply affected by these things than others.
Mental health problems refer to the more common struggles and adjustment difficulties that affect everybody from time to time. These problems tend to happen when people are going through difficult times in life, such as a relationship ending, the death of someone close, conflict in relations with family or friends, or stresses at home, school or work. Feeling stressed or having the blues is a normal response to the psychological or social challenges most people encounter at some time or another. Mental health problems are usually short-term reactions to a particular stressor, such as a loss, painful event, or illness. (Mental Illness Foundation).
I want to classify the causative factots of mental health into three viz: economic factors, physical factors, and gene factors.
Emotional factors- potentially trigger a period of poor mental health: childhood abuse, trauma, violence or neglect, social isolation, loneliness or discrimination, the death of someone close to you, stress, homelessness or poor housing, social disadvantage, poverty or debt, unemployment caring for a family member or friend, a long-term physical health condition significant trauma as an adult, such as military combat, being involved in a serious accident or being the victim of a violent crime.
Physical factors – for example, a head injury or a condition such as epilepsy can have an impact on behaviour and mood (it is important to rule out causes such as this before seeking further treatment for a mental health problem).
Genetic factors – there are genes that cause physical illnesses, so there may be genes that play a role in the development of mental health problems.
According to University of Michigan (University Health Service) stated ten things you can do for your mental health:
Value yourself
Take care of your body
Surround yourself with good people
Give yourself {Volunteer}
Learn how to deal with stress
Quiet in your mind {meditating, mindfulness, and prayers}
Set realistic goals
Break up the monotony
Avoid alcohol and drug abuse
Get help when you need it
Remember: THERE IS NO HEALTH WITHOUT MENTAL HEALTH BECAUSE MENTAL HEALTH IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF HEALTH.
Rotarian TM Akeem Gbadamosi, M.Sc. Industrial Relations and Human Resources Management.
*Chief Executive Officer, First-Goldmine Consulting (An Human Resource Management and Development Services Firm)
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