Safeguarding Mental Health
Syed Hami Geelani
The expression ‘Depression’ most common in usage amongst youngsters is the sworn enemy of normal mental health which is essential not only for human life but also National Life as well.
This psychologically and socially dreaded disease arises from variety of human sufferings and it has its roots in diverse causes. However, at the same time history is replete with examples that number of great souls have achieved the pinnacles of success in various fields by acting upon the human sufferings with full determination and dedication and that is the reason great Khalil Gibran has rightly said “Out of Sufferings have Emerged the Strongest souls-the most massive characters are seared with scars.”
Former President APJ Abdul Kalam, the missile man of India may be cited as one of the examples who has emerged as the strongest soul out of human sufferings. Depression as a severe mental disorder the most talked contemporary subject especially among youngsters is a complex disease bereft of exhaustive list of causes as no one knows exactly what causes it.
In common parlance it usually occurs by taking a lot of tension and stress. Some people have depression during a serious medial illness, others have depression associated with life changing settings inevitable in human life like failing in the examinations, obtaining low marks in the examinations amid parental and societal pressure to obtain higher marks than others who are mostly relatives, friends and neighbors.
Getting not married on time, unemployment, different forms of abuses physical, sexual or emotional, lack of support at the stage of old age, certain medications especially some drugs, such as Isotretinoin, anti-viral drug interferon-alpha and corticosteroids ,can increase your risk of depression, personal conflicts or disputes with family members or friends, sadness or grief after the death or loss of loved ones can increase the risk of depression.
Besides the referred causes the youngsters here are more vulnerable to the risk of depression than other states in India in as much as the youngsters have witnessed only turmoil and dejection and in the absence of any illuminating light on the other side of the tunnel they rampantly indulge in smoking, drug addiction, crime and other allied forms of social diseases.
In this respect researches have shown that taking a lot of stress or strain can cause damage to brain landing our gullible youngsters to the cesspool of various neurological disorders accordingly.
The severity of the problem of depression affecting mental health calls for immediate and serious attention and here lies the role of parents, society and government to combat this menace of depression which has spread its tentacles across the length and breadth of our society.
The first and foremost role parents can play is to avoid the practice of compelling children to enter into the arena of rat race of getting more marks, preferring profession or job according to the profession or job of relatives or neighbors since every human creature is created with unique qualities and attributes and parents should identity the real talent of their children and should facilitate the exploration of the same notwithstanding their personal whims and choices.
The same way religious preachers should play their part by preaching the subject of patience and morality especially among youngsters besides the above referred antidotes against depression affecting mental Health, the Government should devise various schemes for the youngsters including schemes for recreational facilities, self employment, examination systems based on equality rather than rat race or for that matter pressure cooker system so that our nation will not lose the available best human resource available in the form of Children and youngsters as in the words of John Milton; ‘Child Shows the Man as Morning shows the day’.
(The author is a student of Government Women’s college Anantnag)
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