BREAK THE STIGMA.

                One day, when I was strolling through the park, I couldn’t help but hear a conversation of two kids who were taking a break from their hide-and-seek game. One of the boys said, “ Do you know, the teacher showed us our papers for the unit test today and despite cutting down on my playing hours by a whole 30 minutes to study, I just got 18 out of 20!! I was so depressed the whole day bro, like I am such a stupid crazy fool!”. The boy looked around 12 years old and my first thought after listening to it was, “ Itne main do bhale log pass ho jate yaar aur ye ro raha hai!”. But what stuck with me after that was the way he used the word depressed and it got me thinking, we often use these words like depressing, depression, retarded, fool, etc like it’s not a very big thing but something to be joked around. And this is not just an issue with us but in general the entire world. We have a habit of taking mental health issues very casually. It’s not like we don’t know that they exist but we don’t give much attention to them. Like a person suffering from a fever or a cough will have 10 calls from relatives to ask about his health, will be taken care of at all times, will be sent gifts, soups etc, but at the same time, a person suffering from some mental illness like anxiety will be either made fun of or will be tagged as a liar or a person making excuses to avoid work or will be tagged as crazy and will be avoided at public functions etc. Let’s ask ourselves, Why? Why can’t we treat mental illness like other illnesses? Like, imagine we do that in case of dengue or malaria. Imagine people saying things like, “Dengue vagre sab jhooth hai re. Aisa kuch nahi hota”, “Dengue hua hai?? Are bahar ghumne aaja, dengue vagre sab bhaag jayega”. ”Dengue hua hai? Aur chala mobile, dengue hua hai bol raha hai. Ye din bhar ghusa rehta hai na mobile main isiliye lagta hai aisa sab tujhe”. As you can see, it makes no sense at all. Rather it’s horrifying to see how a person, suffering from something so serious, is not taken seriously. It’s like telling a person with a fracture to sit back and relax because there is nothing as a fracture or something. Just because you can’t see the pain of a person doesn’t mean that it isn’t there! In these cases especially, the person is actually fighting a very severe battle which if he loses will lead to him rupturing the most important part of the body i.e the brain! We often call someone a fool or a crazy or retarded very casually but actually if you go and see an actual person with those unfortunate conditions, you will understand the pain they go through. People who are born with mental retardedness, are often bullied, eyed at and made fun of. And the worst part of it is that they understand each and everything you say about them. They can see the unwanted pity that you show towards them or the way you are making fun of them but they can’t do anything about it. Instead of that, if you go to a mentally retarded person and show him love, treat him as one, make him feel as if he is one of your own, you will find that even if all the people leave you, that person will come towards you always! He will always remember you and care for you and will himself walk towards you.

               People suffering from Asperger’s syndrome, are oftentimes made fun of because they may not be very social. Asperger’s syndrome is a condition wherein the person is basically in his own world unable to socially interact. However, few of the brilliant scientists had this disorder but were still so successful! So the point is, if you behave nicely with these people, make them feel as if they are your own, they can excel in their life as well. But this doesn't happen because people either are ignorant about these issues or consider them as some curse or something and don't give them the attention they require.

 

          Sadly this is the condition of mental health. If you ignore the symptoms, the damage that can be caused due to mental illness can be irreversible at some times as well! Of course, that doesn’t mean we should force someone to speak up. Mental health issues are supposed to be handled carefully and we should make sure that the person is comfortable speaking. If not then we must give the person time and space. So let’s take care of us, and of others around us and let’s start opening up about mental health and break the stigma and talk about mental health! 

Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, but stigma and bias shame us all.

                                                                                                 - Bill Clinton

Written by

Rtr. Atharv Tamhane,

Rotaract Club of Thane North End.