"At the root of this dilemma is the way we view mental health in this country. Whether an illness affects your heart, your leg or your brain, it's still an illness, and there should be no distinction." Said the former First Lady of the United States of America, Michelle Obama.

When people face any physical issue, they openly seek help but when it comes to mental issues, people prefer to keep mum because either they find it hard to accept or they are afraid of this judgemental society. In the present day, people look for perfectionism. Whether she/he is a curvy person or a skinny person, whether she/he is black or white, they are being body-shamed for both. In this first world, mental health should be given the first priority but unluckily it is being neglected by the majority of the population. People have stopped seeing themselves with their own eyes. Instead, they judge themselves with the eyes of others. No doubt that the world is developing, but somewhere it is making people less compassionate. 

In the present scenario, almost 13% of the total world population is suffering from mental health issues. This percentage may increase as the world has just fought a war against a two-year-long pandemic. The world has become very unequal. In every country, we find people who find it difficult to adjust their thinking capabilities according to the modernizing society. This lack in them creates trouble for other human beings who just want to make the world a better place. Here comes into action some commonly used words like racism, sexism, bullying, disrespecting the LGBTQ+ community etcetera. A child suffering from Down's syndrome is not only bullied by classmates but also by other parents, neighbors, teachers, and sometimes by close relatives. Sometimes they are given up by their own parents. This creates depression and the hippocampus of the child's brain starts to release cortisol that further causes other brain regions to shrink which further leads to more complications in the physical being. People are becoming so self-centered that they start to think that they own the world. According to a survey conducted by Harvard University, it has been found that during these two years of the pandemic, children, teens, and young adults received the hardest hit. They became socially isolated and the feeling of loneliness grasped them. But adults were also suffering. Many lost their jobs, many lost their families. Some children even lost either one or both of their parents. According to WHO, health is in all a state of physical, mental, and social well-being and not just mere lack of any disease. It is clearly understandable from this statement that issues with any one of these three can make a person unhealthy. Mental health holds an important place in our lives because not only human beings but society can suffer due to these. Some of the commonly known examples are terrorists, serial killers, and sometimes even rapists. No one is a born terrorist or a serial killer or a rapist. These people go through some heart-wrenching situations which affect their mental health and pull out all the emotions from their bodies. At last, they force themselves to commit heinous crimes as they lose their faith in humanity forever. Competition has started among people regarding following the latest trend. It seems like whoever is not participating here is being looked down on by others. To avoid being looked down at they pretend in front of the world and somewhere they forget their real selves. And as it seems, the competition is getting tough and tough with each passing day. From statistics presented by WHO, it can be seen that over 700,000 people die because of suicide every year. Suicide has been ranked 4th amongst the cause of death for the age group of 15-29 years. Depression is an issue which never sees the age of the victim. From a 12-year-old child to a 70-year-old man, it spares none. People say that suicide is not a solution. Maybe it is the truth. But for people suffering from mental health issues, surviving is the biggest challenge. Some accept the challenge and go on while some just choose the other way round. And a portion from those who choose to survive become drug addicts at some point in life. Many psychologists are out there who are ready to help their patients but in most cases, the rest of the members of the family don't let them go just because they get confused between a psychiatrist and a psychologist. Proper education is somewhere lacking in most of the population. In schools, they teach about diseases related to every part of the body but somehow they forget to talk about mental health. 

“It doesn’t have to take over your life, it doesn't have to define you as a person, it’s just important that you ask for help. It’s not a sign of weakness.” Said by a famous American singer, Demi Lovato.

The best medicine ever made for mental health issues is talking. Talking to people without being afraid of being judged, seeking help from people without any help. The field of psychology creates a scope for people to know more about their real selves. Together people should create a judgment-free environment where everyone has the right to be themselves and not to pretend according to the world's needs. Everyone in this world should speak for themselves. No one's life is easy and they should stand strong enough to fight for their own happiness. Everyone should get equal respect and opportunities. Campaigns should be conducted, awareness should be spread. The schools should teach about mental health and issues regarding it from the very beginning. People should make the victims of mental health issues believe that they are not alone. Instead, everyone is together in this fight. And as the saying goes, "United we stand. Divided we fall."

.     .     .