Well, Well, Well….. What to Say? I have been asked this Question like a Thousand Times, Still I Wonder More about the Sanity of the Person asking such a Question than My Psychotic Patients (See the Irony, eh?). Okay, So Let Me ask You a Question instead, ‘Why is it Important to see a Doctor?’. Most of You would Say that it is as Basic as Breathing to Visit a Doctor when You’re Sick. Yeah, Fine, I Hear You, What About It when We’re Mentally Sick? Don’t We Need to Visit Someone Then? Yeah, Now You’re Thinking. Let Me Make it Easier for You Though (Since I am in a Generous Mood).
Mental Health is defined as a State of Well-Being in which Every Individual Realizes His or Her Own Potential, can Cope with the Normal Stresses of Life, Can Work Productively and Fruitfully, and is Able to Make a Contribution to Her or His Community (World Health Organization, 2020). So if Things Go South (Opposite to the Definition), You’re in Trouble Mate!
ENow Imagine, if You were Given a Cell Phone which had a Working Cellular Network but could never Get Access to Working Internet, would You Keep it that Way? You will Try to Get it to a Repair Shop or You will Simply Change the Phone, Because Who can Live Without Internet these Days (God Knows I Can’t!). So, in Order to be Acceptable to You, a Phone has to be Operational at all Levels, Lacking in even One Function would Make it Look Useless to You. Now, Let’s Say that like a Phone, We have some Working Levels and Specs. Our Mind, Body and Soul, Take One Out and the others are Rendered Somehow Useless or Unworkable (Hope You got the Answer to Why Mental Health is Important by Now, Else I Might Start Screaming from the Screen at You, so Don’t Try Me). Let’s Bring the Family Part in our Cellular Problem (I Am just Trying to Relate to You Guys, Since Phones are Much More in Fashion than Humans Man!), Since we all receive Messages Regularly Nowadays in Family Groups, if Your Phone isn’t Working Properly, Your Mom might get Upset that why You威而鋼 have not Responded to Dozens of Messages she sent Earlier inquiring about Your Day, Dinner Plans and what not (not that You’re a Good Offspring otherwise, Still, Things We Do for Love), which might Turn out to become a Dispute in the End and You are Kicked Out of a Social Circle Gradually. You got it Right, when You are not Feeling Mentally Fine, it does Look like to Your Family and Friends that You are not Receiving their Messages or Responding to them in a Certain Way, hence having a Healthy Mind and Procuring Mental Health is something that is Vitally Important to Your whole Family as well.
So now, the Last Part, the Society Perspective, God Knows what will happen if Everyone had a Faulty Cell Phone (Pluto might Explode from the Outburst People will be having). Us and People around Us, are very much Connected from our Minds, Cell Phones are just a Modern Way of Channeling that Connection. A Healthy Mind can Bring a Lot more Perspective and Energy to a Family and their Social Circle than a Troubled Mind can, not that the Troubled Mind is any Less than the Healthy One, it’s just that the Coding of a Troubled Mind is not Accessible by Common People around You, and that’s where Clinical Psychologists come into the Equation, to Decode the Viruses in Your Mind so You can again Send and Receive Messages.
Enough Jibber Jabber, I am going to be Serious Now (Please Don’t Die of Boredom). Mental Health is the Key to Physical Wellbeing, Better Familial Relationships and a Progressive Society. If You Feel the Need to Talk about Even the Smallest of Things that are Disturbing Your Peace of Mind, Please Consult a Counselor or a Clinical Psychologist, because Helping Minds Leads to Saving Mankind (You’re Still Alive, You Stubborn Soul!).
Intro of the Writer:
Ms. Isra Tahseen has done her BS (Hons.) in Clinical Psychology and MS in Clinical Psychology both from Centre for Clinical Psychology, University of the Punjab, Lahore. She has served as Head of Department of Clinical Psychology at DHQ Hospital and has been working as a Clinical Psychologist for more than 4 years. Her area of expertise include Research, Adult Psychopathology and Clinical Training of Students.
