“I am having a migraine.”

If I said this to anyone right now, I’d probably get ten different solutions for it, from using medications and meditations to gulping down tablets and going off to sleep for a while. I’d get people telling me that it will probably go away soon, that it was because of the stress that I was going through or people giving me the kind of compassion that I probably don’t even deserve. But I know, I would. You would too. Because migraine is a kind of headache, a physical ache and for ages now, we have come to accept this as a nominal if not a common illness.

The same goes for any other physical ailment that human body could go through. We have all been accustomed to the fact that as a tangible form, we humans will go through headaches, heartaches, stomachaches, broken limbs… well, the list goes on and you probably get the gist of it.

But what most humans don’t get or have not readily accepted is the fact that as humans we have our minds working for us, and almost always it works non stop. Our mind, our thoughts are a part of our bodies, just as our heads and heart is. And if that mind goes through a transformation, or an illness, it is just as natural. Mental health and the talk of it, is just as natural!!

Only, the problem lies in the fact that even in 2020, it is still associated with various kinds of stigma which prevent people from speaking and talking about the problem with the kind of openness which comes freely for appendicitis or stomach ulcers. In as few words as possible, all I can say is mental health is normal. It is not a choice. But it should also not in any way stigmatized.

World health Organisation states, “One in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives.” And while there are people who take this as seriously as we should, most of us don’t consider it as an issue. The neglect is universal.

At the same time I should state that there are treatments, various kinds of it, but the stigma, discrimination and the neglect always overpowers the issue. And most of them never seek professional help.

So, the first step in improving the condition is accepting the situation and the people as they are. If someone looks unhealthy, not just physically it becomes the responsibility of a fellow human to check on him. Even if one can’t do much for the other person, it always helps when you are kind to them and reserve your judgmental eyes for some other reincarnation.

Be happy! And make others happy!

Most of us try to find so many reasons to be unhappy, but if we just tried, one small step at a time we could bring a change. We could be kind, compassionate and try and share that one partial smile. We could turn a frown into a laughter, yet unknown.

Remember an unhappy person makes an unhappy society.

And a failure to adapt to the situation, or make it better with ways we can; we fail as a society. And I don’t think an unhappy society with innumerable failures is what we can be proud of, ever!