Bw Sunday Special: May Means Making Mental Health A Priority

Human life is constituted around the Mind, Body and Soul. The body needs to be shaped, the soul requires to be rejuvenated and the mind seeks for relaxing. In this racing routine, life gets balanced out when any one of these does not get what it needs. The mind is the driver of every activity we function in our life, and when the mind overdoes it often turns into stress and anxiety. And if it runs for a long time eventually converts into depression. The mental illness and issue do not specify children and adults, it is getting prevalent among both. 

Mental Health Awareness Month 

Though mental health is a crucial part to live a content life, it is still considered a taboo in the society. Mental illness directly implies sanity and hence people who suffer always get hesitate to go through medical consultation. May is the month to remove that hesitation from the minds of people who suffer and people who treat it as a social stigma. The issue is constantly increasing irrespective of age, gender, region and life status, therefore in order to conserve the social structure and economic development we need to come together to address the issue at the forefront. 

Suffering At Younger Age 

Disrupt in mental health has many causes that adults have to face but surprisingly children too deal with their bad mental health condition that eventually affects their studies, mental and physical growth. According to data provided by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, 9.4 per cent of children aged 3-17 years (approximately 5.8 million) had been diagnosed with anxiety in 2016-2019. Increasing time screen and lesser physical activity is one of the major causes behind children suffering from mental illness. 

A study titled ‘Age of first smartphone and mental wellbeing outcome’ conducted in over 40 countries talks about the psychological issues related to children that occurred due to the usage of smartphones from a very early age. The study also highlighted that the individuals who received their first smartphone after 18 were less likely to experience mental distress. 

The study also mentions that excessive usage of smartphones led to lower self-confidence among children which further became one of the causes of mental instability among them. 

The study also suggests various measures for parents and teachers to deal with the disturbed mental health among children. 

Chronic Illness In Older Age

Due to the existing social stigma, people do not give proper cognizance to the mental issue that eventually turns into severe and chronic mental illness that often manifested in suicidal attempts and harm to another person. In adults, these mental issues are mostly the causes of bad relationships and harassing work culture. That is why today every workplace makes sure that they will keep their employees content and happy by providing every assistance that is required. 

In this regard, Reetu Raina, Vice President & Global Head of Talent Management, Amdocs believes, “In today's corporate world, the significance of mental health awareness cannot be overstated. Recognising that employees are the backbone of any organisation, it is evident that their well-being directly influences productivity and success. By prioritising mental health, companies create a positive work environment that promotes employee engagement, creativity, and resilience.”

Work makes a man happy and can make him sad too, during and after covid the mental health of employees is being prioritised on a larger level. Because they know, the mental health of a person can affect his/her work effectively and as a result that will reflect on the overall growth of the company. It is high time, that companies and workplaces should not wait for a catastrophe like Covid to understand the importance of mental health.

Anjali Byce, CHRO at STL addressed the same issue and said, “In 2022, terms such as "great resignation," "quiet quitting," and "moonlighting" gained traction as topics of discussion. While opinions on these trends varied, there was unanimous agreement on the significance of mental health. As per Assocham, 42.5 per cent of employees in Indian corporates experience depression or generalised anxiety disorder. These are harrowing numbers, but I am glad that more and more companies are taking cognizance of this and addressing the elephant in the room: mental health.”

Growth comes from a stable mindset and for a steady mindset, one needs to have good mental health. A good mental requires several components including one’s willpower and societal support. As a progressing society, we should discard considering mental illness as a taboo and move forward with whoever needs care and attention regarding the same.