Mental Health-Time to Talk!!

There is a never ending debate regarding the most complex machine ever created. Over the centuries, (wo) man has created machines in increasing order of complexity- from the first basic cars to the driverless cars of today, from the abacus to today's AI powered supercomputers, from the first telephone to today's advanced smartphones, the list is never ending and ever increasing.

However, there is one entity whose complexity trumps that of the most complex machine hands down, and that is the human mind!

There are a number of factors that make the mind such a complex entity- the sheer expanse, the ability to think and dream of hitherto unforeseen possibilities, the complex interplay of emotions with logic, and the sheer unpredictability of it - is there any machine which can come close to this level of complexity?

It is an outcome of this complexity which also leads our minds to sometimes behave unpredictably, even erratically. Just like our bodies have their ailments and illnesses, so do our minds. Our minds are housed in our bodies, and if physical aliments can be accepted as routine and looked at dispassionately from a point of view of curing them, why do we still then treat mental ailments as taboo and shy away from discussing them openly?

Of all the ills that the Covid pandemic has brought upon us, the one contribution of this difficult time has been an increased awareness and willingness to confront issues related to mental health. Earlier, hardly any employer used to consider mental health as a topic worthy of discussion or framing a policy upon. The general response one could expect from anyone they shared a mental issue with, ranged from scorn to indifference to an advice to go see a shrink, and one could guarantee a large majority of the population neither had the inclination nor the awareness of the fact that mental health or mental illness could be as much a part of our being as physical illness.

The last couple of years has seen a huge uptick in the number of people suffering from mental issues, exacerbated in no small measure by the anxieties and uncertainties brought about by the raging pandemic-the first such experience for virtually the entire world. Long days and hours spent bottled up at home, workdays merging into each other seamlessly and the consequent blurring of work life and family life, all took its toll. There have been numerous studies of late regarding the proportion of our working population needing psychological help or feeling duress, and while the figures vary, there is little doubt that mental health is slowly becoming the biggest scourge of our times, and the greatest killer of employee well-being and productivity.

It is in this context that we all need to wake up to this problem, and extend our hands out to help and support others, or to seek help and support ourselves. The biggest challenge in tackling mental health issues, apart from the overarching societal mindset, is the fact that one cannot observe clear outward manifestations of mental illness as much as they can those of physical illness. Thus, it is all the more important that we take immediate steps in the right direction to correct this anomaly.

It is worth noting that things are changing on this front. There are organizations, like the one that I work for, that are taking some genuine and positive steps in the right direction and leading the way in this aspect. But the way is long and arduous. It starts with changing our prevailing mindsets regarding mental health- anyone of us could face mental health issues, just like anyone of us could catch a cold and fever. It doesn’t mean something is wrong with the person or that he/she needs to go see a shrink, it also doesn’t help asking the person to just get over it. It means the person is in duress, and needs help and support.

Changing mindsets, just like changing cultures, is a slow and painful process. But like they say, if you want to see lasting change, you need to be prepared to take the long and painful route. It is imperative that we together create the right ambience to make everyone feel equally welcome to share their thoughts, feelings and issues. We need to reach out to people when we see them struggling, we need to hold out our hands and help them get back up. It could be the biggest contribution that we can make towards making this society and this world a better place, and help create a lasting legacy for a better future for our future generations as well!