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Anxiety, lack of confidence, stage fright and nervousness in people before speaking to a crowd are nothing out of the ordinary. The intensity of these phenomena however, differs. Some might be unable to control their nervousness while addressing their class of 20-40, Some might be unable to control their nervousness to a crowd of hundreds but can control it effectively if its their class, and so on.

Personally, I remember four years back I had to give a speaking test for second language in class and I completely forgot that even existed- till the day and the very moment I had to give it when my name was called. So voila, now I had an unplanned extempore. Now four years ago, I did not have the platforms, opportunities and interests that I have now, so my nervousness was visible by the class and was even pointed out actually. Nervousness hit me so hard, while speaking to an audience numbered just 20ish.

By time, I thought about moments when I was in the audience, what did I think of the speakers on stage? What did my friends think of the speakers on stage? Then I realized, no one really cares about you if you don’t land an impact on the audience. We’re going to sleep, no one’s going to have the energy to make fun of you there unless you start dancing or do something literally stupid but that’s a different case. If you’re gonna be “just another speaker in the line”, be nervous, boring and don’t have a spark. You’re going to be forgotten the moment you move away from the podium, or maybe even halfway through your speech. Whereas the ones who come up with confidence, land an impact that sends a shiver down ones spine. They aren’t forgotten. It’s like, they’re done speaking before we were done listening. 

Nervous speakers often end up questioning, “What if I mess it up?”, “what will the crowd think of me?”, “Are they going to like me?”, “Oh no, is that top speaker of the school also in this?”, “Why am I even participating at this point, I stand no chance.” Well guess what, if you’re going to question all of this and give up to them compromising on the power you could have delivered, then yes, why are you even participating if you believe don’t believe you can make a comeback or grow further?

If you give in to these negative thoughts and feelings, it’s going to bring nothing but harm, and pull down the power you will have on the audience. Moreover, so what if the schools supposed best speaker is a part of it too? Not all battles are won and not all battles are lost, while it might be the first battle he’s going to lose, it might be your first win. Which honestly, I have exactly the same experience with in MUNs.

There are a lot of tips and recommendations out there relating to how to be that strong and influencing speaker that makes an impact and leaves a mark, but the basics of everything is to be confident and understand how the audience looks at you if you speak nervously, compared to with power. The art of managing subtle mess-ups, body language, voice modulation etc. comes later, and will be much easier to learn once the basics are established.

October 2017, My first MUN, on a topic that I never knew existed until I signed up for the MUN. My first debate, and a come back to public speaking to larger audiences in years. I was determined to win, first conference, determined to make it my first win as well, among people with multiple MUN experiences, multiple victories, sat a first timer, wanting to win.

With the mindset I had, I knew I had to be confident, I knew no one’s going to care about me if I don’t deliver my content with impact. So the mindset and determination provided the perfect nutrition for the roots of my content that would grow to victory. I strongly believed, even amidst the experienced, I stood a chance. It motivated me to work on my speech in a way that it could bring discussion and thought, and honestly it did. While all the speakers before me were allocated about 1-3 questions, once mine was done, I was allocated 5 (which was the highest in the whole general speakers list for that topic).

Furthermore, during crowd control, I had adequate research which also further motivated me to believe I can do this. I was confident in speaking informally to alliance crowds as well, bring out my ideas and lead our bloc.

Ultimately, the victory fell in my hands. And if there was something I was sure led me to it, was determination, and the fact that I convinced myself “No one cares about you if you’re not going to make an impact, and if no one cares, you’re not going to win”. That is what formed the base of everything else, research, voice modulation, eye contact etc. You can’t reap its fruits if you don’t nurture the roots.

While this is not the only way one can convince themselves to get over their anxiety, it sure did help for me and might help for a few others as well.

Do you have any similar experiences with getting over nervousness/anxiety/stage-fright and different approaches? Leave down your experiences in the comments!

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Background

For decades and even centuries we have seen women struggle for rights that they deserved but weren’t granted, for safety, recognition, dignity, equality and empowerment in various fields etc.

Throughout these struggles, a united mass movement of majority women and men supporting ‘gender equality’ arose, what we called ‘feminism’.

However, giving ‘feminism’ a standardized definition would create numerous disagreements as people’s ideas and notions about the word feminism may vary greatly.

Ponder.

Nature of Modern Feminism

Most of the feminist movements professionally carried out by women in the past decades are of a fairly good cause, however, ‘feminism’ has taken a different turn in the last couple years now absorbing qualities which are repulsive to many who even though might support gender equality/justice will deny to call themselves a feminist simply because the general idea now has broken down to a certain extent and varies greatly among different people.

The best description that can be given to modern [apparent] feminism being carried out in majority (but not completely) can be ‘women dominance’ (feminazi; matriarchy), and not ‘gender equality’. A good example for such notions can be the assumption that every male has to get up to give their seat to women in a metro/bus even if she is in perfect health (the assumption is correct if pregnant, old age or any other relative cause).

Edit:: The definition of feminism is and still remains to this day as a movement whose aim is to achieve equality of the sexes. Some black sheep (Feminazis) have gone out of their way and want to establish a matriarchal societal structure, and they do not represent feminism.

Mutual Empowerment among the same gender

Anyways, you probably already know most of how bad and misguided things in this field have become, how much controversy and debate it has lead to everywhere between people of various ages, so skipping more details on this let’s get to the point of the title- “mutual empowerment…”. 

Leaving aside the blame game on judging the other gender, it is essential to start involving ourselves in empowerment of each other in various fields and not just crying about it.

This can be done in many ways, and no this does not mean supporting each other even if they’re wrong and calling it ’empowerment’ and blaming the society for being ‘judgmental’.

However, this requires an attempt to become patient, compassionate and understanding people and the society so you don’t end up blaming the entirety of the opposite gender every time just one of them does something wrong. (“All men/women are…”), stuff like this provokes backlashes by the opposite gender on why they don’t like supporting gender-related movements etc.

Instead of doing the “all men/women are…” ritual every time one person does something wrong or judges you, why not establish the strength to ignore their sexist/racist comment and bring out numerous reasons why they’re wrong and empower each other and support each other in a good way to move ahead in life and be more productive, strong, independent and lead? 

“Women supporting each other, instead of competing against each other, brings a unity and strength like no other” Julie Spira

Cross-Gender/Humanitarian Mutual Empowerment

That was a small outline on how empowerment in a different perspective and understanding can help, now coming to a different mode of mutual empowerment- one where gender is irrelevant. 

This can come in handy to reduce sexual crimes, violence and sexist judgement. However, pulling this together would take a great deal of effort and the co-operation of every single human being that has stepped foot on the soil of Earth and is breathing.

Basically, both genders must start seeing each other as the same species with an equal value, obviously they are not ‘identical’ but the value remains the same.

How? Take the following mark sheet of two students in consideration in a test, they have scored differently in every question (i.e. student A may have got a question wrong which student B may have got correct etc.). However, the end total is the same value.

For sexual harassment and abuse to stop, people need to be trained to be disciplined (self control, focus, understanding), control their desires and look at others in a different way, realize their human value, recognize that they have feelings like you do (may be even more intense and sensitive; you never know).

The advantage of inculcating this in life is that it brings numerous other benefits as well, not just inhibiting harassment and abuse but even improving ones social life and its various aspects as a whole. Who knows, maybe that one day at school or work after the weekend might not seem that bad anymore!

Due to the length of this post I will not be expressing more examples, think for yourself, what are your suggestions for mutual empowerment to raise our safety, trust and collaboration standards cross-gender? Leave your answers down in the comments below!

“ […] Allah is the best of all planners.” [Quran 8:30, 3:54]

We spent a lot of time planning everything out in the previous year. In general, no plan has a 100% success rate but in 2020, the surprising blow dealt to us through a pandemic was a large-scale disruption in a very long time.

“ […] My planning is flawless.” [Quran 7:183]

Whenever something happens that we perceive negatively, we often wonder why. We try to figure out why the said negative events took place and what we might have done wrong. We grieve, doubt, and think about what to do ahead in future. All these phenomena were greatly amplified as the threats posed by COVID-19 grew and further grow as we hear about the new mutant strain of COVID-19.

Through the lens of Islam, we can answer that question in the following ways:

“Corruption has spread on land and sea as a result of what people’s hands have done, so that Allah may cause them to taste ˹the consequences of˺ some of their deeds and perhaps they might return ˹to the Right Path˺.” [Quran 30:41]

It is becoming increasingly difficult to reach common ground with modernizing cultures, exposure, and religion. A significant proportion of Muslims make a sacrifice in part of religion to keep up with modern trends. Calamities can be said to fall upon us as a reminder of religion so that we may correct the decisions we make.

“Beware of a trial that will not only affect the wrongdoers among you.” [Quran 8:25]

While punishments and reminders hit hardest to those who have gone astray, many calamities also affect those who have been on the right path. The above cited verse shows that Allah often sends calamities to everyone—whether guided or not. And these calamities are either a test or a punishment from Allah; but the purpose of these calamities is always bringing people closer or their creator and to learn lessons from their previous mistakes.

“We will certainly test you with a touch of fear and famine and loss of property, life, and crops. Give good news to those who patiently endure—who, when faced with a disaster, say, “Surely to Allah we belong and to Him we will ˹all˺ return.”” [Quran 2:155-156]

Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “If Allah wants to do good to somebody, He afflicts him with trials.” (Sahih al-Bukhari 5645)

Abu Sa’id and Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Never a believer is stricken with a discomfort, an illness, an anxiety, a grief or mental worry or even the pricking of a thorn but Allah will expiate his sins on account of his patience”. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. Riyad As Salihin Arabic/English book reference: Book 1, Hadith 37

Tests can be hard. Even the prophet and his companions were worried and asked about Allah’s help at times of severe calamity.

“Do you think you will be admitted into Paradise without being tested like those before you? They were afflicted with suffering and adversity and were so ˹violently˺ shaken that ˹even˺ the Messenger and the believers with him cried out, “When will Allah’s help come?” Indeed, Allah’s help is ˹always˺ near.” [Quran 2:214]

Image Source

Accepting fate will help us come to terms with many things that happen to or around us. It will also help inhibit feelings of ego, self-centrism, and allow gratitude, patience, and more down-to-earth qualities to sprout within us.

“No calamity ˹or blessing˺ occurs on earth or in yourselves without being ˹written˺ in a Record before We bring it into being. This is certainly easy for Allah. ˹We let you know this˺ so that you neither grieve over what you have missed nor boast over what He has granted you. For Allah does not like whoever is arrogant, boastful—” [57:22-23]

This new year, I sat among my family and relatives after watching the fireworks at a rooftop around a bonfire. Instead of a camping horror story, the conversation revolved around our lessons from 2020 and what we want to do in 2021. I was wearing a fancy combination of red and black with a hat. I am sure the level of seriousness that would have been given to the sermon I was delivering would have been very different if I had said the same things with the same outfit in a backward/traditional setting. The point of conversation would most likely divert to the color of my clothing and my reluctance to dress traditionally, although my level of religious understanding tells me that there are not many provisions on that rather than to cover appropriately.

As I have grown older, many questions have surrounded me in terms of religion. Some easy to answer and even the contrary. They revolved around music, interactions among genders, sense of fashion and clothing, how much and how to cover oneself, consumption of intoxicants, traditional practices, and much more. Over the years, I have seen a lot of missing puzzle pieces among a good proportion of those who have been Muslim by virtue of birth. We tend to attempt answering complex questions and indulge in controversies without knowing basics of what and why we are Muslim, what we pray, and our other basic foundations. Those who have reverted to Islam have shown a stronger foundation. Among those who circled our bonfire at new year was also a woman who reverted to Islam at the age of 21. Her story was a testament to how many born Muslims take the religion for-granted and miss out on important details. As a person who was searching for the truth since her childhood, she talked about her understanding of Islam from scratch by her free-will through the Quran and Hadith.

Clearly, our first step to become better Muslims is to drop trivial conversations and return to starting from basic and authentic sources (The Quran and Hadith (sayings of the prophet [PBUH])) and understand Islam in an unadulterated form.

Making any change requires perseverance. We often teach others that failures do not imply that the person is not good at something, but that they need to keep trying and they will eventually reach where they want to be. Yet, when the matter is about religion and a person is unable to do something, they say that “it is simply not destined.” We must understand that destiny is a little more complex than that and it does not infringe upon the freedom of choice given to humans to a good extent.

A young man who drank wine brought to Khalifah Umar, when he saw him, Umar said, “Carry out al-Hadd (the punishment fixed by the Noble Qur’aan or the Sunnah of the Noble Prophet, peace be upon him) on him,” but the young man said, “By Allah O Commander of the Believers, Allah decreed that I drink wine.” Upon hearing this Umar said, “”Carry out Al-Hadd on him; the first time for drinking wine and the second one because he invents a lie against Allah.” Then, he said, “Woe to you man, Qada’ (the preordainment) of Allah never deprives you of the free will nor does it cause you any harm.” (Source)

The first step to change is that we must be determined to work towards it. While the will of Allah is unquestionable, the following verse highlights the importance of individual effort:

“Allah will never change the state of a person unless they are willing to change it themselves.” [Quran 13:11]

Another perspective and state of mind that was suggested by the revert I talked about earlier was that our Islamic goals can be a backward working plan to achieve a bigger goal. The bigger goal is that we must want to see Allah in heaven. She suggested that we work backwards from that goal. What must we do to achieve it? As we answer subsequent questions, we set long term and short term goals and make alterations to our actions, beliefs, and mind set to ultimately achieve a much bigger and valuable goal. This strategy can work better than plainly setting short term goals and targets.

Begin working towards your resolution as soon as possible. You do not have to revolutionize overnight. Consider the message and see how you should move ahead. Affirm your commitment by reaffirming the resolutions in the comments section below.

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New Year after New Year, resolutions after resolutions, goals after goals. Some were achieved but some were not. The turning of our calendar page from one year to another resembled a new start. It motivated us to bring changes. Just like how many burn, crumple, or tear their penned feelings, the shifting calendar pages also imply the same sentiment. The old is gone, and the new is ahead. 

What we leave behind and what we intend to take with us, what we choose to unlearn and what we want to learn, the habits we drop and the ones we wish to pick up, the tensions we calm and the happiness we cherish, all owe to our ability to control them. With the calendar page turning from 2020 to 2021, how do we make the conscious decision to leave behind the pandemic? How do we choose to leave behind the struggles it brought with it? The financial challenges, the salary-cuts, the job losses, and the many political and social struggles. How with just the turn of a page do we fix that?  

It lies outside our control. Perhaps that is why we steer clear from making any significant resolutions or saying, “2021 will be my year!” The control of the actual events has been taken out of our hands and we feel powerless. It’s like the weather- out of our control. But even when the weather is out of control, we still get to decide on our clothing. Yet, the situation is complicated. Not everyone will have equal access to the same type of clothes at the same prices. No, this isn’t a write-up on poverty and social inequalities although that too is an important topic. 

2020, in general, may have been the toughest year, especially for gen Z as our elders have already had their fair share of experiences in various economic and political issues and the previous H1N1 pandemic of 2009-10. Now that most of us are grown enough to be able to comprehend, understand, and feel the consequences in a more profound way than a decade ago, we understand and feel issues better. Directly unrelated problems create a ripple effect that affects us too. We worry about our family’s finances if they were subject to salary-cuts or workforce reduction. We fear our stay in the country, the continuity of our education, and our future. The lockdown has affected many of us social beings negatively by making us unable to meet people and socialize in person while introverts might be having a gala time in their personal space. Yet, other issues could have impacted their lives as well, such as the current universal question mark- online education. Many are subject to abuse and domestic violence having to spend more time at home while many are happy that they get more time with their family. 

The difference in impacts has created a bridge between people who have just survived and those who have achieved a lot. We’ve seen people being called lazy for not achieving much in a pandemic but also people being proud of mere survival. The key to not being guilt-tripped or guilt-tripping is situational understanding and self-awareness. Most of these things are directly controllable (even if not easy to do so). If you’ve found yourself not achieving much in this pandemic, ask yourself “why?”, and question your reasoning as well. “Is this a true barrier or am I making excuses?” Keep finding alternatives, “what can I do to overcome this obstacle?” Yet, be kind and compassionate with yourself. If you graduated from school and wanted to take a break, you deserved it. If you had emotional and personal barriers that made productivity difficult, don’t invalidate yourself but cope and seek appropriate help. If all you did was survive, it’s okay. You didn’t have valid reasons to ‘just’ survive? Run yourself through the questions above and make 2021 yours. 

1. Acknowledge what has happened, and what may happen, and give yourself a pat on your back for making it far enough to be able to read this. 

2. Even though you might have suffered a great deal from everything 2020 has thrown at you, do everything in your control to continuously push yourself to acknowledge positive changes (no matter how tiny you may think they are!), lessons learned, changes to make ahead, and know that you are bigger than all of these hurdles.

3. As everything has shifted online and the current trends show that it will remain so for longer, analyse your screen time, explore hobbies (some ideas: paint, design, coding, marketing, creative writing, poetry, knitting, baking, cycling, blogging), and find out alternative spaces to spend your time to protect your eyes and soul from possible depression, anxiety, and other health hazards inflicted by high screen time, especially social media usage. 

4. Journal. Understanding yourself and staying connected with your thoughts and feelings is important as it will direct you to take more productive actions and maintain more stable mental health. 

5. Spend me-time. It’s okay to disconnect from socialising and work and spend some time doing things that are objectively unproductive but help calm you or keep you in a zen space.

6. Do not judge plainly by the ability to buy clothes for the weather conditions. Remember that there are many circumstances that further define the availability and accessibility to the clothing we talked about. Everyone’s journey is different and unique. Your only competition should be yourself. Don’t let the adulterated standards, pictures, posts, and ideas on social media take over your belief system. You are greater than a web algorithm. 

7. Develop a plan for your goals and tasks ahead. Online work or learning can be more challenging but is certainly not a barrier you can’t cross. Control the increased distractions, and find ways to adapt to the new learning atmosphere. 

8. During a road trip, there exists the journey and the destination. Even though the destination is important the journey is often most enjoyed. Likewise, don’t be hard on yourself by assessing end goals and narrow results. You may have missed out on achieving exactly what you wanted, but you can never miss out on the experience and learning you gained in attempting to do so. Even when you reach where you wanted, you wouldn’t be there if you hadn’t undertaken the journey. So value the journey, not just the destination. 

With all these lessons learned and applied, the flipping of the calendar page remains a metaphor for the old being gone and the new coming up. We’ve learned our lessons from one calamity of a year, now we show 2021 that we’ve learned and will do our best to improvise, adapt, and overcome, even in the face of new virus variants. So don’t feel afraid of making new resolutions and saying “2021 will be my year!” because indeed if you want it to be your year, it will be your year. The trick is to place the emphasis on the journey and not the destination. 

What are your resolutions and learning for the coming year? Let me know in the comments below! Oh and, Happy New Year and don’t forget the seize it!

The World Health Organization (WHO) released a report for the 2008-13 period about non communicable diseases (diabetes, cancers, etc.). In a footnote, they stated that “Mental health disorders are not included here despite the heavy burden of disease that they impose, as they do not share the same risk factors … ” 

This is often misunderstood to not consider mental health. That is where the problem begins. So long as mental health is not considered as an issue valid enough to be dealt with, a nation’s mental health crisis is bound to aggravate unless saved by a messiah or two. 

In this piece, S Sanjana from Hues of the Mind and I will walk you through why mental health needs more work at a policy and individual level in India. 

Huesofthemind is a non-profit organization run by progressive youth whose mission is to have more conversations about mental health to reduce the stigma around it. Their team also creates self-help resources and has created a safe space for over 4000 people.

Table of Contents

The Importance of Considering Mental Health As A Valid Illness

Overview

Not only is mental health a valid medical area to consider, but it is also linked with other forms of health. For example, one study shows that about half of the patients victim to cancer are also victims of depression. Conversely, patients suffering with mental health challenges are more likely to develop noncommunicable diseases like cardiovascular diseases and others. 

The state of mental health infrastructure in India is still underdeveloped. A parliamentary questionnaire in 2019 revealed that India has only 43 government mental hospitals spread across just 21 states. A WHO mental health atlas in 2017 showed that for every 100,000 individuals, India has only 0.29 psychiatrists. When the number of child psychologists is brought to the table, just 49 existed. For a nation that is estimated to have one in four families with at least one member facing mental health challenges, these numbers pose a major crisis.

Data amidst the lockdown and the “mental health epidemic” has further shown that for society to be resilient, their mental health needs to be taken care of appropriately.

The Economics of Indian Mental Health Challenges 

It can also be proven that mental health has an economic implication as well. A research claims that corporate mental health challenges in India costs the industry about 1 trillion U.S. dollars. 

Although the crisis is significant and changes are needed, the groundwork for mental health is not nonexistent. The same WHO atlas also acknowledged that the government provided school-based and anti-stigma awareness resources. Additionally, in 2020, the New Education Policy also discussed mental health in two places:

1. Clause 2.7 – “Children are unable to learn optimally when they are undernourished or unwell. Hence, the nutrition and health (including mental health) of children will be addressed…” 
2. Clause 4.27 – “Basic training in health, including preventive health, mental health … will also be included in the curriculum, as will be scientific explanations of the detrimental and damaging effects of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.” 

While these are also stepping stones to making good progress, there is more work and realism needed. For example, I believe that the inclusion of scientific explanations of the harms of substances in the mental health landscape is inadequate. Addicted youth are already aware of the long term detriment these substances have. However, they do not feel them in the short run and hence use it as a temporary escape. These substances are also often used as a method of self harm. Therefore, providing psychological explanations of why students end up resorting to addictive practices as an escape and what other alternatives exist to cope with mental health challenges needs to be accompanied with the other policy. 

India’s First Comprehensive Mental Health Policy (1982)

Decades ago, India responded to these issues via the National Mental Health Program (NMHP, 1982). The objectives of this program were as follows:

1. To ensure the availability and accessibility of minimum mental healthcare for all… ;
2. To encourage the application of mental health knowledge in general healthcare and in social development; and
3. To promote community participation in the mental health service development and … self-help…

The Mental Healthcare Act (2017) 

In 2017, India revised their mental health care plan for the first time since their previous NMHP. Their plan acknowledged that many fail to receive treatment as their families associate the illness with shame. They also cited that “According to a study conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, 1 in 40 and 1 in 20 people are suffering from the past and current episodes of depression in India.” With over 90% families failing to receive treatment, such measures were imperative. 

The 2017 Act made major progressive steps such as:

• Right to accessing good quality affordable mental healthcare services,
• Decriminalization of suicide,
• In case of a failed suicide attempt, a government duty to provide rehabilitation, and
• Prohibition of electroconvulsive therapy for minors. 

Mental Health Policy Needs More Work 

According to a Professor at the Institute of Mental Health in Hyderabad, while the act is good progress, it still contains a few restrictions that need to be resolved such as:

• The definition of mental illness (“a substantial disorder of thinking, mood, perception, orientation or memory that grossly impairs judgement, behavior, capacity to recognize reality or ability to meet the ordinary demands of life, mental conditions associated with the abuse of alcohol and drugs”) is restrictive and does not include:
  • Conversion disorders,
  • Phobias, 
  • Panic disorders,
  • Personality disorders. 
• The act does not have a strong provision to prevent the development of mental illnesses. It talks about rehabilitation post the development of it but not to prevent it. 

We acknowledge that existing policy initiatives and programs, such as the District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) and Ayushman Bharat, are continuing to work to provide mental health services integrated with primary health services. However, the implementation of the DMHP is not uniform and various provisions have not been fully implemented yet. 

Availing government-sponsored mental health care requires regular visits to government healthcare facilities as the medications are frequently unavailable or only dispensed in small doses. There are time and transportation costs to obtain medication refills for patients with chronic mental illness. These multiple costs add to the psychological and financial burden already borne by individuals and their families. Few who can afford it, turn to more expensive private healthcare as an alternative option. Thus, access to care and treatment is still largely impeded by procedural and financial hurdles.

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) 2018

PMJAY has a package covering a list of mental illnesses including schizophrenia and mental retardation, according to officials. From an article on November 19, 2019, The Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS) is all set to cover mental illnesses. 

Additionally, Ayushman Bharat’s key components state “Screening and Basic management of Mental health ailment” but has currently indulged no updates regarding the improvement of this key component. 

In a few other interviews, officials have acknowledged certain gaps in implementing policies and involving more advanced procedures. Yet, many would believe that the acknowledgement is not followed up with rectifying policies.

The Society’s Role in Mental Health

In India, many families value “conformity to norms, emotional self-control, and family recognition through achievement”, mental health challenges are associated with shame. This in addition to other stigma and norms has hindered help-seeking behaviour.

As mental health education is increasing, more and more families are accepting of the existence of mental health challenges. Yet, even then, certain stigmas persist. 

1. Families link religious morality with mental health – families will associate mental health challenges with one’s inability to connect with their faith. “If you are religious, you should be mentally peaceful too.” 
2. It is believed that material success guarantees good mental health – people who either have one or a combination of being well-off, well-known, or have a good career are expected to have good mental health. COVID-19 has set the strongest precedent to disprove this statement. 
3. “Life is not meant to be easy” – Many people’s mental health struggles are delegitimized with this statement. Along with the aforementioned, victims of mental health challenges avoid being open about their feelings as they know they can not expect more than insensitivity from their environment. 

What Next?

We have seen the research and we understand that while there are positive steps being taken in the country, we are yet to park our car in this journey. We call for further policy changes coupled with societal belief shifts. 

We propose the following specific changes (at policy, organizational, and individual levels) additional to other recommendations embedded throughout the article:

1. Mental health should be integrated with the National Urban Health Mission and other programs to deal with the high prevalence of mental health issues in urban areas. 
2. The shortage of medical professionals in the field of psychiatry and psychology needs to be filled with incentives.
3. Families’ beliefs that psychiatry and psychology is inferior to other subjects needs to be changed; the lack of supply of professionals won’t be filled unless this belief is fought. 
4. Given the seriousness of the issue at hand, mental health should have its separate budget rather than relying on the remaining budget of the Primary Health Care budget. Additionally, Mental Health Schemes and Policies should be an equal part of the Primary Health Care system. 
5. As mental health care is expensive (due to private sector presence in the field), it becomes harder for people to afford it. Increased government presence and/or subsidies may be considered to work for this.
6. The rural population needs to be aware of mental health issues, therefore, such information should be given at an early age embedded in their education.
7. Mental Health should be given just as much importance as Physical Health; mental health affects our physical health and other parts of life (academics, career, relationships, etc.) if left untreated.
8. Workshops regarding mental health issues and their awareness should be conducted both in academic institutions and in the workplace.

Policy is not everything. Therefore, it is also important that we fight the stigma around mental health issues at a personal, family, and community level as it will encourage more people to seek medical treatment and knowledge regarding mental health issues. 

DISCLAIMER

This piece is not the work of licensed professionals. However, the content is research-based and factual to the best of the writers’ knowledge. 

What do you think about our proposals and ideas? Do you have any additional solutions we overlooked? Do you have any points of disagreement with us? We’d love to hear from you and engage in conversations for a better tomorrow!

References

6 Apr 201825 Feb 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui

28 Mar 201825 Feb 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui

27 Feb 201825 Feb 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui

28 Jan 201825 Feb 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui

3 Nov 201725 Feb 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui

How far do the boundaries of ‘talents’ go? Or actually, do such boundaries to define talent even exist?

Before moving on, let’s pretend that instruments, oration, sports, acting, singing, dancing, photography and any other ‘talent’ that involves physical objects or self-exertion of abilities to give a self-comforting outcome or skill do not exist. Let’s pretend all such talents are no longer there in you.

Besides them, what other talents do you have in mind?
(They should not involve any object or a formally ‘learned’ technique or skill) 

Do you still feel talented? Are you happy about yourself? 

Ponder.

Well the truth is, just because Sharma Ji’s son can play the guitar, piano, violin, and much more, and you being a supposedly-common person who can make others smile and feel better- doesn’t make you any less than him.

Admittedly, the two of you are very different, and maybe only the talents of one you will get formally credited, but in reality, you can’t tell whose talent may engrave an impression on someone’s heart for a lifetime. It could be you, or even Sharma Ji’s son, or even both.

Talents don’t have to come in the form of something with which you can win accolades. Well honestly, having small talents like the ability to make people happy and easily cheer them up is itself a great accolade.

The purpose of this post is not to belittle any talent that is valued greatly in the modern era, but to raise the value of talents that are under-rated in the present world.

There are actually so many talented people out there, you reading this, you too are talented in your own way, it might not be a category in your schools ‘talent contest’ but that doesn’t mean you’re not talented, maybe your talent is too advanced and far too magnificent to be judged and merited for.

You might look at yourself as a common person who is just casually moving on with life fulfilling his/her duties and might not even matter to anyone if he/she disappeared, but no, stop right there, you are blessed and talented. Who knows what wonderful effect that smile you gave to that stranger you saw might have had on them? Or to the teachers and students you saw in school before this weekend? They might be having a bad day but your one little action might have completely turned the tables for them. That’s talent too. 

Your talents might even be hidden in the simplest things like being able to empathize, understand, relate and comfort people around you, and/or those who vent to you. That’s talent too. 

Coming back to the question that was given in bold at the start of the post- “Do you still feel talented? Are you happy about yourself?“. 

You might have had the answer ‘no’ before reading the rest of the content in this post, but now you probably might be able to confidently say ‘yes’ to it.

The main aim was to bring realization to the fact that there are unlimited varieties of talents people may have, and none of them should go unnoticed. They all matter.

Agreeably, on quick thought, realizing such small inner talents might not be easy. Naturally, it might take time for one to do so, but it is not impossible, and moreover it’s worth it.

Just because it’s night and you can’t see the sun, does not mean that the sun does not exist nor that a time won’t come where you will be able to see the sun.