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Myth about Mental Health:
The moment we hear the word “Mental” we see an image of screeching wheelchairs on squeaky clean floors, nurses and ward-boys in white clothes pushing the wheelchairs and some administering medicine. And flashes of someone having a breakdown, being restrained by strong men.
The movies we grew up watching have burned this image of a “Mental” patient in our minds. And we don’t want to be that screaming person, who the family forcibly commits to an asylum, neighbor’s watching.
Even if you do not have this version of an image for a mental health patient, you might have something similar. It might essentially mean that being a ‘mental’ health patient is something to be avoided.
This is a myth that is being followed by society even today.
At a time when such movies were made, which showed us these horrible Mental Asylums, there was little to no development in psychology and psychiatry. Most of the theories were just developing and being tested out. There were wild practices like lobotomy and shock therapy to deal with any behaviour that was different than normal. The term used for going to an asylum was “to commit to an asylum” because it was almost forever that one would go there to live.
Breaking the Myth:
The good news is that there have been huge, big, phenomenal changes in psychology, psychiatry and mental health work in general.
Most of the mental health disorders of that time have been de-classified (considered no longer existing) and new scientific research has created a catalog of more clearly defined conditions. Please note that they are called conditions and not diseases. This also implies that anyone can go through these conditions at one point of their lives or another. It is just like getting a cough and cold.
It is now completely wrong to call someone ‘mad’ or ‘crazy’ Both these words were used very wrongly to define a person who is going through an issue they are not able to overcome on their own.
Now even people with brain damage and chemical imbalances are able to integrate in society very easily. Except for some handicap with certain work, almost everybody is able to lead a normal, healthy life.
Dealing with Mental Health:
And isn’t that the goal of any therapy, anyway? That people who have unfortunately found themselves dealing with issues in their mind, should be able to resolve them and lead a perfectly normal life.
First of all, the blanket term of “crazy” has been categorized into many many different disorders depending on the symptoms. For example, a person going through a breakup, who has lost interest in showering, cleaning or eating, for a week, is no longer left to “get over it” by himself, or called “crazy”. He can find a counselor or a relationship coach, and find closure to his feelings, get back on his feet, and lead a healthy life, including starting a new relationship where he doesn’t make the same ‘mistakes’.
Dealing with Mental Health – Friends & Family Support:
“But this is the job of friends, and family”, you would say. And you would be right in saying that. Friends and family are there for our support. And they sometimes do support us. However, most of the time, they are not themselves equipped to deal with either the issue, or deal with helping you go through the phases you are supposed to go through.
For example, taking a friend who is grieving to drink alcohol has been a common practice among young men. However, there has been a linkage between this recreational drinking and alcoholism. How, then, is this support by friends helpful for the person going through the breakup?
Or when a new mother goes through early stages of Postpartum depression, caused by the huge hormonal imbalances in her body after childbirth, she is often pooh-poohed by her family, told, “do not think too much” or “what do you have to worry about? Just focus on your child”. Even if she finds support in friends and family, who might give her enough sleep and rest, she is often unable to express the strong, unreasonable, destructive and self-negating urges she gets, in a bout of hormonal disturbances.
The family and friends are not to be blamed. It is not fair to ask every family and friend to prepare themselves for such issues happening with their loved ones either. They are doing the best they can. But there is another way for the one suffering from the issue, to get help.
Dealing with Mental Health – Professional Way:
There are a whole bunch of trained professionals available to deal with such issues, which are equipped to deal with a wide range of mental health problems.
Some are trained in psychology, some in CBT, REBT, and a lot of them are trained in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP).
They can take us through small and big changes to deal with our specific issue.
We often say that the world is very stressful nowadays and mental health issues are a new-age thing. Old people often tell us that they did not have things like depression and anxiety. However, if you look at this information closely, you will find that there was no way for them to diagnose depression or anxiety, both issues that can be easily dealt with, by trained professionals. In the old days, they used to just call someone “crazy” and put them in an asylum.
Today, we have more cases of mental health issues like depression and anxiety, because we have a specific list of symptoms for us to check for ourselves. And it is easy for us to get help, or even take a do-it-yourself approach. More people are speaking out about the depression and anxiety they faced, and more people are connected with each other via internet, in general.
All of this might make it seem like depression and anxiety are issues only the new/ young people face. However, the truth, as you can see ,is that they were always around. We now have better ways to deal with them. And other mental health issues also. In short, if you are not feeling your joyous, calm state of mind, there is an issue you can deal with. And you can find for yourself the tools to handle it for yourself, or help others to handle such issues.
As a Mental Health Coach, an NLP practitioner, I can talk about NLP being the best way to deal with most mental health issues. My Coach and Mentor, Ridhima, who is the Best NLP Trainer in India, has helped me through issues with relationships, personal and professional goals, and bringing my happy, satisfied state of mind back to me. For that I am forever grateful to her. NLP has so many techniques that can deal with each personal issue in a different way. And you can use one or many tools in this toolbox, to fine-tune your mental machine.
Ridhima has this unique approach of taking you down to the basics, the nuts and bolts, so that you know very clearly, what works where, and how. I have seen her students come out of her classes with a clearer understanding of coaching, for self and for others, than any other coaching faculty in India.
Conclusion:
To conclude, “Mental” is just a word, which means “related to the mind”. Just like “physical” means “related to the body. So you can see how Mental Health is as important as Physical health. And with NLP, you can become an expert at preserving mental health for yourself and for others. So, contact Ridhima at connect@i-flame.in and get started on your mental health toolbox, early on!