Introduction
Mental health is described as the amalgamation of emotional, psychological, and social behavior that has a massive impact on how we feel, act, and think. Our mental health condition also projects how much able we are to deal with any imminent psychological stress or emotional turbulence that is about to hit us via any such circumstance. It determines one’s capability to handle a troubled situation in the best or worst possible way. It also enables or disables a person’s ability to give back to the society he/she is belonging to, hence tarnishing or boosting the social existence.
History
For the longest time, mental health was not even considered a matter of concern, so much so that it was not until the mid-19th century that the term mental hygiene was coined by William Sweetser. It was after terming ‘mental hygiene ‘that the approaches towards considering positive mental health to be a key ingredient of a healthy life started to come into play. Otherwise, anyone suffering from mental sickness, who could have been helped and offered relief, has always been neglected.
Prior to the time when there was no concept of the term mental health or hygiene, people with mental instability or disorders were considered spiritually punished. As absurd as it may sound, this had been faced by people all around the globe. From believing a supernatural power taking control over a person’s body and soul to announcing the mental vulnerability as a curse of the almighty to punish them for their sins of this life or their previous lives.
Attention towards mental health and its importance grew stronger with the foundation of “Mental Health America- National Committee for Mental Hygiene” by Clifford Beers at the beginning of the 20th century.
Raising awareness towards mental health: –
Currently, the revenue invested in mental health care is extremely meagre and 80 percent of the funds mostly go to mental hospitals along with the very low digits of health officials and staff working for the mental sickness department all around the world. Out of one lakh health department workers, only nine of them account for the
Department of mental hygiene. To have safe and sound minds in the world, people need to come forward to help those in need and urge others to step up for the cause too as if health professionals do not engage in their own field, then it would not be possible for others to show care and awareness towards the troubled ones.
Precautions to take to conserve mental hygiene
As we know that an individual can never be healthy if his/her mind is going through any psychological disturbance. From fixing our surrounding to improving communication, every little entity that is a part of our lives plays an important role in maintaining a good and healthy mind. Places, where we spend our time, need to be peaceful and should promote the growth of a person. From educational sectors to workplaces, all of them must engage in conducting mental health care programs to keep a check on their students and employees as they are representing and building the future of the organization.
Conclusion
Minority communities are at high risk of suffering from mental depression, like the LGBTQIA+ community. They still face the wrath of old-school conservative mindsets. People facing bullying, discriminations of different sorts, and emotional damage, also adhere to be tested positive for mental depression. To recover and save ourselves and the people around us from an unhealthy mind that can cause us and all the others unrepairable harm, we need to be gentle, thoughtful, accepting, and accommodating towards others. To accept their perceptions and to understand their point of view instead of being judgemental and rude just to prove our point.
Acceptance and appreciation have their own healing power that can make or break a person’s mind in the most special way.
