Mental health has never been an area of bright focus in India and has been subjected to false impositions and beliefs since time immemorial. It was during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the entire world was stagnated, that some awareness started to spread and people started becoming more open in terms of their own mental well-being as well as that of others. However, I still believe there is a genuine lack of awareness regarding the presence of mental health professionals and what they seek to do.

Back in the days, when mental health was a topic alien to each and everyone, people considered those with mental illnesses to be ‘ghosts’. The concept of ‘supernatural powers’ prevailed. And according to this concept, every human being who suffered from any sort of mental illness was assumed to be in the web of some magical force, her/his mind and body taken over and ruled by an unknown and unidentified external power. In today’s time, we will not hesitate to call it a crazy superstition but at the same time, I shall not hesitate to say that superstitions as such have not ceased to exist. They exist without a clear name or a clear label. How? Well, I’d say every time we call a person erratic, stupid or with a term of any such sort, without knowing the true reason behind their behaviour, we are allowing this legacy to continue, we are allowing people to still have faith in the belief that every person who suffers from OCD or clinical depression is not in the right state of mind, is controlled by an external force.

What does a psychologist do? A psychologist attempts to understand WHAT - What is it that makes people behave in the way they do. If someone is behaving strangely, then in spite of thinking what external power she/he is ruled by, a psychologist will try to figure out the causal factors of their behaviour and then proceed to HOW - How can this behaviour be modified in a way that it seems to be less disruptive for both, the client as well as the society. The question that arises here is - Is this not something we can do ourselves? Can we not know what is making us behave the way we do and then, modify it? Well, only if we could diagnose ourselves with what illness we have every time we get sick, no doctors would ever be needed. We need an interior designer when we plan to move to a brand new place, we need an electrician to fix the wire connection, and we need a builder who will build a place we can call home. Similarly, we need a person we can let out to, a person we can share all our feelings with, knowing that she/he will not only be non-judgemental but will also try and give effective solutions for our concerns.

However, since the myths related to psychology haven’t been busted yet and we hesitate to consult a psychotherapist, a concept named ‘metacognition’ came into picture. Though, this concept is not for those facing a severe mental health issue, it is very much effective for those going through disturbance and distress in everyday life, as a matter of fact, it is effective for all of us. The process of ‘metacognition’ is like preventing an illness by taking precautionary measures if we can see the symptoms prevailing in our body. We might not need a doctor then! Maybe we would but not as frequent. I think you got my point, by a doctor I was indirectly referring to a mental health expert. So, let’s get to it!

Think of a world where all of us are aware of our triggers, aware of how our personality has been shaped in the way that it has been and aware of our innermost thoughts, feelings, emotions and desires that make us behave in a certain way. Are we aware? We are certainly not. We don’t know what we go on speaking every time a wave of anger hits us or why we cry in situations where everyone is up for a good laugh! Imagine a daughter who tells her mother that she is not feeling good because she is unable to get over the past and whatever happened at school when she was seven and her mother knows exactly how to deal with her in that situation without being panicky about it.

Being aware and conscious about ourselves does not make us all psychologists. But what it does make us is more self-aware, it makes us act critically and think rationally every time we are in a situation where freaking out seems to be the easiest thing to do. As the degree of self-awareness increases, so does our awareness about the people around us and what causes them to behave differently. This phenomenon has been coined the term ‘metacognition’. According to the American Psychological Association, metacognition refers to the awareness of one’s own cognitive processes, often involving a conscious attempt to control them.

I would like to repeat that Meta-cognition is not a way to replace psychologists or to be one ourselves, it is simply a way of better living in a world where psychology has been clouded with myths. We can try to self-regulate and be better versions of ourselves if we are struggling with something mentally and are not willing to consult a mental health expert or maybe, we are not permitted to do so.

How can we be meta-cognists? According to me, the journey of selfawareness starts from knowing and accepting. Thinking over our thoughts and accepting them instead of labelling them as good or bad is the first important step. We will never be able to work on ourselves if we don’t know what has to be worked upon. To solve the problem, we have to know what it is. What I am trying to say is not contemplation. Contemplation is “While I was in that situation, I was feeling frustrated or sad or lost or confused.” On the other hand, conscious awareness says, “I am in a situation and I want to scream or cry because I feel frustrated.” See, how it gives us a chance to stay in the present and think before we act. It allows us to give our thoughts a thought and not act or speak anything that might prove to be distressful for ourselves or anyone else. Contemplation happens the moment our thoughts end and we are out of a particular situation. The process and functioning of metacognition is different. It is thinking what our mind is saying.

For instance, imagine yourself in a situation, witnessing a fight between two strangers, now, neither do you know them, nor the context of their fight but, notice your thoughts. There is an entire set-up, an entire story in your mind, try to observe it. You have probably crafted a full-fledged story on how just because they are fighting on the street, it must be something related to road rage but what if it is not? You assume that the person who is listening to everything quietly, who is being shouted at is the innocent guy. But because you have been working on yourself, giving your own thoughts a look, you know this is also just a thought! What if the quiet guy caused the fight? See, you have an entirely different perspective now, you can contemplate.

If we don’t use a fancy word like ‘metacognition’ for once, we can simply say it is similar to talking to ourselves as a different person. Talking to ourselves like we would talk to a near friend. But no best friend knows what is going on in our mind as much as we do and they don’t know what we have gone through over the years so believe it, you have got the best advice for you and you are your best friend. Thinking about it, I feel it is a superpower we all carry. Isn’t it one we humans have? The ability and capability to regulate our own mind, to look at it and to modify it. Indeed, we do, and only if we accept ourselves as we are and get ready to embark on this mental health journey, who knows we will soon be allowing ourselves to accept others as they are and also, accept and appreciate mental health professionals for the great work that they do. Meta-cognition, since it begins with accepting and observing, it gives us space to accept mental well-being as a beautiful concept. Not only are the mental health experts working on themselves, they are indeed allowing others to be themselves too by unfolding the potential they have.

So, are you ready to build a world where mental health is no longer a neglected subject and are you ready to start with yourself?

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