''You don't have to control your thoughts. You just have to stop letting them control you." - Dan Millman

I am a Counsellor and a Psychology Enthusiast, so it struck my mind to speak on Mental Health which is equally as important as Physical Health. Nowadays people get themselves properly checked for Physical ailments but the least importance is given to Mental Health. When you get ill or catch a cold or any serious disorder you consult a Doctor, but when you are tangled in your mind with different sets of thoughts or unstoppable emotions which keep striking you again and again, you think it is just a normal thought and it will vanish away with time.

Don't you remember the COVID situation back in 2020 which hit all over the World and across India? That time when people were forcefully told to stay inside their houses and maintain the least contact with others as COVID was spreading like Termite infected piece of wood block. I, as a Counsellor, Tele-counseled thousands of people who lacked communication, were not able to express themselves and developed Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression which are the major cause of developing Serious Psychological Disorders. Now you all would want to know what basically are Psychological disorders and how they affect you. So I would like to first Define Psychiatric disorders, It is a clinically significant psychological or behavioural syndrome that causes subjective distress, objective disability, or loss of freedom and which is not merely socially deviant behaviour or an expected response to a stressful life event. There is a manifestation of behavioural, psychological, and biological dysfunction in a person.

Classification of Psychiatric disorders are:

1. Organic Mental Disorders [Delirium, Dementia, etc.]
2. Psychoactive Substance Use Disorders [Alcohol use Disorders]
3. Schizophrenia
4. Mood Disorders [Depression, Mania, Hypomania, Bipolar]
5. Psychotic Disorders [Delusional Disorders]
6. Neurotic, Stress related, and Somatoform Disorders [Anxiety, Phobia, Panic, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Conversion, Dissociative, Hypochondriasis, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Adjustment Disorders etc.]
7. Personality and Behaviour Disorders [Paranoid, Schizoid, Schizotypal, Antisocial, Histrionic, Narcissistic, Emotionally Unstable, Avoidant, Dependent, Obsessive Compulsive, Passive Aggressive, Habit and Impulse Disorders]
8. Sexual Disorders [Gender Identity, Transsexualism, Paraphilias, Fetishism, Sadism, Masochism,  Exhibitionism, Voyeurism, Frotteurism, Paedophilia]
9. Sleep Disorders [Insomnia, Hypersomnia, Sleep Walking, Sleep Terror, Bruxism, Sleep Talking, etc.]
10. Mental Retardation [Phenylketonuria, Down's Syndrome,  Fragile-X Syndrome, Cretinism, Cerebral Palsy]
11. Child Psychiatry [Specific Developmental, Pervasive Developmental, Hyperkinetic, Conduct, Tic Enuresis and Encopresis, Speech, Habit Disorders, etc.]

There may be millions of thoughts in your mind which are like a stimulus in your nervous system, to some there is a response towards it and some vanish on their way. Stimulus travels through your brain like electric current and flow through nerves. The main happy hormones are Dopamine and Serotonin, Dopamine gives you temporary pleasure but Serotonin provides long-lasting happiness or well-being.

So it is rightly said to focus on your mind, Practice Yoga, Exercise, Adapt a healthy lifestyle, stay away from toxic people, and maintain positivity because you are responsible for your positive emotions and mental health, No body else can help you in it, but if there is severity in your mental health do contact your nearest psychologists or psychiatrist. The main difference between both is that Psychologists provide treatment with the help of psychological therapies and Psychiatrists provide treatment with the help of medications.

It's on you what you wish to adapt, There is a taboo in India not to consult a Psychologist for your mental health as people may give you a tag of 'PAGAL'. But I would request you all to spend money wisely on your mental health same as Physical health. Make your emotions your priority and work on them till you achieve peace and calmness in your life. Stay Happy Stay Safe. Be motivated and confident to take decisions.

''Great things happen to those who don't stop believing, trying, learning, and being grateful.'' - Roy T.Bennett

.    .    .