By Paonam Thoibi
Mind Matters
First of all, I would like to thank the team of Imphal Free Press for setting aside this space for addressing the need for mental health and behavioral wellness.
Mental health and well being is explained by taking into account the cultural differences among people, subjective assessments and multiple theories. However, all theories commonly derives that it is the state of functioning at a satisfactory level of emotional and behavioral adjustment. Simply put, it is the ability of a person to enjoy life and strike balance between activities he/she is engaged in by coping with normal stress, and contribute to the community as is expected from a social being.
A lot of daily transactions depend on how our mind works while doing a task. The mind which is frequently synonymous with thought: the private conversations that we carry on ‘inside our heads’ will help to ‘make up our mind’. The mind is a private sphere where only the owner has the access to it. So no one else can therefore actually, in the real sense ‘know our mind’. The psychologists are trained people who can attempt to interpret what people consciously or unconsciously communicate. The psychologist’s area of work is vast and diverse starting from an individual who stays in a small nuclear family of two to all workplaces where ‘people to people’ interactions are involved. They find a huge role in schools, sports arena, corporate, space research, etc.
A person struggling with his or her behavioral health may face stress, extreme sadness, get anxious or have various psychological concerns. Their interpersonal relationship can get adversely affected or they can even get into substance use. We all have heard about people who attempts or commits suicide for reasons not known even to their closest tie. With a timely intervention through therapy, proper medications or community involvement facilitated by practiced personnel like clinical psychologists, psychiatrists and other mental health professionals they can be managed and saved.
We live in a place where the global wind sweeps and are not left unaffected by what is happening in the farthest continent. We are all connected, always logged-in in these fast paced days and hardly find time to rewind to a time where things were simpler and we all were healthier. In such a time, it is very essential to stay informed and have help at our disposal- both for our elderly and our just born kids! It is not a surprise to come across very familiar words like depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia etc from our friends. We are often clueless why are our children behaving so differently every time and we would be lying if we say we are never panicked by such behaviors. We would definitely want to know when our adolescents will listen to us or grow. Very frequently we come across people who asks which is better: MEDICINE or COUNSELING. How drug addiction is best managed?
This space will commit to answer all queries related to mental health and wellness every Saturdays and will be answered with the best of the solutions which have been derived from therapeutic practice and experiences. Cases which will need a prompt visit to the expert concerned will be duly advised as mental health concern is very much a health emergency like physical injury or accident.
Readers are invited make queries about what they see as their anxiety problems for Paonam Thoibi to answer at: e-mail: mindmifp@gmail.com. Anonymity will be respected if desired.
(Paonam Thoibi, Consultant Psychosocial Worker with Human to Humane Transcultural Centre for Torture and Trauma.)
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/05/demystify-your-anxieties/