“All of Us Seek Happiness in Our Lives.” Everyone wants to spend a few moments of peace in a life full of hustle. We all want to have all the comforts of life, and that’s right too. After all, that’s what living a life is all about.
But in this relentless life and work, many of us fail to take care of our health, specifically our “mental health.” Around the world today, stress, anxiety, and depression are common terms, but what these terms generally refer to is: “a complex response or an emotion followed by feelings of tension and worried thoughts.”
Although it is very common to experience stress and anxiety, when these seemingly common things start dominating the mind, our lives get disturbed somewhere. If we are aware enough of our mental health, we can, on our own, manage the initial stages of stress and anxiety to a great extent. However, if we are not aware of how these common worries and troubles can catch us in their clutches, then over time, we may also suffer from serious psychological disorders that we, in psychology, call “Dissociative Disorders.”
When we suffer from excessive troubles or stress in day-to-day life, we often seek a safer side, where we do not have to answer to other people. In simple words, we search for “ESCAPISM.” Escapism means a denial to face the reality of ourselves and the reality of our surroundings. An escapist is a person who seeks diversion from reality.
- In psychological terms, they are known to us as “Depersonalisation” and “Derealisation.”
- Due to a lot of distress, sometimes we start feeling difficulties in learning new experiences or even in recalling past experiences, which is termed “Dissociative Amnesia.”
- In some rare cases, it has been found that people partially or completely forget their own selves and start acting as a different personality as a means of escapism. This is termed “Dissociative Identity Disorder.”
Research has shown that people are reluctant to seek professional help for any kind of mental illness, especially from mental health professionals. This may be because of the impact of stigma and their perceptions of others’ negative responses as well! But we need to understand that anyone can be affected by any sort of mental illness, regardless of their level of success.
All we need to understand is what Leonard Cohen once said:
“There is always a crack in everything, and that’s how the light gets in.”
Leonard Cohen
We need to make people aware that they can easily reach any mental health professional, whether a ‘psychologist’ or more specifically a ‘psychiatrist,’ to maintain a healthy mental state. After all, that’s what they are for!
We must remember that “We shouldn’t let the perceptions of others destroy our inner peace“, because “the most important thing is to enjoy our life, to be happy. That’s all that matters in the end.”
Audrey Hepburn
Rise up from the stigma.. Feel free to talk about your mental health.. feel free to consult your psychologist!
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