By Rathi Pragasam
It’s one thing to feel low, but it’s another to feel low in the modern world. I believe the modern world exacerbates mental illness.
So much is said about overpopulation and we often hear how it’s easy to feel lonely in a crowd. However, we forget that the crowd consists not just of people, but of ideas and ideals. People feel lonely because they don’t fit with the ideas or they feel compressed because the ideals that are imposed are too overwhelming.
Facebook walls became billboards for “It’s OK to not be OK” images and reminders of: “A man dies by suicide every 2 hours in the UK” with plenty of takes on how more money should be channelled to mental health services.
However, the very same society that promotes men’s mental well-being campaigns is the society that also tells men who display emotions to “man up” or “grow a pair”. Social media platforms that allow images of mental health slogans also host advertisements of how post-natal depression can be avoided if mothers-to-be “embrace” pregnancy by having professional photographs taken of their burgeoning bellies.
The conundrum surrounding mental health services is akin to the treatment it attempts – treating the symptoms but not the root cause.
Very little besides Patient Satisfaction Surveys are conducted to gauge the quality of treatment given to the patient. A common piece of advice that is given to people is to “keep yourself busy”, which raises questions as to whether enough weight is attached to the rat race that most people in the modern world a part of are already. The notion being that an idle mind is the Devil’s workshop, rather than grabbing a bull by the horns.
“Burnout” cases are a frequent occurrence where people have swept their problems under the carpet because they were too busy to deal with their emotions. In such circumstances, surely the blanket advice of: “keep yourself busy” is the wrong thing to tell a patient who might need to switch off instead.
Group therapy is heavily recommended to people without exploring if being surrounded by others with similar symptoms would be a trigger, such as with some people who self-harm. Therefore, while mental health services could benefit from more funding, it could also be enhanced by reviewing the advice and treatment that are being dispensed. Addressing the root cause as opposed to the symptoms may reduce the duration that the patient uses the service leading to a reduction in costs.
For a society that prides itself upon being liberal-minded, the stigma and stereotype of mental illness are as widespread as mental illness itself. Rethink.org states that one in four people will have a mental illness at some point in their lives, yet society chooses to shame or sympathise rather than synchronise with mentally ill people.
The modern world thrives so much on telling people how to live their ‘perfect life’ that people’s preoccupation with knowing and interpreting everything comes at the expense of our individual experiences, a connection with ourselves and the organic interactions we have with those around us.
Today, the most basic human interactions that man has been consuming since Adam are dictated by magazines and websites. People are made to doubt themselves. Issues as complex as how to love fully are covered in a two-page article.
Our present world has paved a trajectory for people to run from feeling inadequate to instant gratification then back again, which is a sure-fire way of manipulating self-esteem and creating anxiety. Of course, there are no shortage of websites spelling out anxiety symptoms to turn an emotional wound into a gangrenous emotional handicap.
Perhaps society itself is feeling insecure.
If we take the public admiration for Joaquin Phoenix after his disturbing and complex portray of The Joker, there were as many critics who claimed the film would incite the mentally vulnerable to commit mass murders. Could this be a subtle admission by society that it has failed to nurture its members in a healthy and emotionally productive manner and that still is still so many misunderstandings about mental health?
The human mind is a universe. Let’s give it the credit and freedom to be seen for what it is and to be whatever it is without confining its grandeur through a telescope. Let’s be empathetic and nice when we see someone who is struggling mentally. It can happen to anybody.
Bearing this in mind - if you come across me, please be empathetic and please be nice.
