Talk about it
When I was weighed down by depression following a major surgery earlier this year, people close to me went into denial mode.
I was told that I was a strong woman and mental weakness was not me. While I do know that, I cannot deny the mental debilitation that had become part of me post the surgery. Friends couldn’t accept what I had become and left me.
I have been condemned of faking in order to draw attention, been told that I needed to be more grateful for my comfortable existence, and reprimanded for being unable to keep my emotions under control. This led me to doubt myself, which in turn only made matters worse.
However, I have had a fair share of support too because of which I have been able to accept that my mental energies are indeed at a low for now and that, with time, I would get stronger.
Dear World, mental disability is for real, awareness about mental health is the need of the hour and we can no longer beat around the bush about it.
Which is why I decided to talk about it whenever possible. Such communication has not only helped me but also has given consolation to at least four of my acquaintances who are going through almost similar symptoms as I have been.
When you are ravaged by something you don’t understand, it always helps to know you are not alone.
And that, dear World, is what we seek of you. To be with us through the dark.
We don’t want you to tell us to be strong and to move on but to understand that our reaching out for help is not a sign of weakness but of strength.
So also is the acceptance of mental disability as something to reckon with. For, it takes a lot to accept and to ask for help.
By the way, the world marked October 10 as Mental Health Day.
Vidya Shankar
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Oct 13, 2018)
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/d806ff7b-b48a-4955-9e4f-167fd0a80592.aspx
Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk
You can buy it at this link:
https://notionpress.com/read/the-flautist-of-brindaranyamwww.facebook.com
I was told that I was a strong woman and mental weakness was not me. While I do know that, I cannot deny the mental debilitation that had become part of me post the surgery. Friends couldn’t accept what I had become and left me.
I have been condemned of faking in order to draw attention, been told that I needed to be more grateful for my comfortable existence, and reprimanded for being unable to keep my emotions under control. This led me to doubt myself, which in turn only made matters worse.
However, I have had a fair share of support too because of which I have been able to accept that my mental energies are indeed at a low for now and that, with time, I would get stronger.
Dear World, mental disability is for real, awareness about mental health is the need of the hour and we can no longer beat around the bush about it.
Which is why I decided to talk about it whenever possible. Such communication has not only helped me but also has given consolation to at least four of my acquaintances who are going through almost similar symptoms as I have been.
When you are ravaged by something you don’t understand, it always helps to know you are not alone.
And that, dear World, is what we seek of you. To be with us through the dark.
We don’t want you to tell us to be strong and to move on but to understand that our reaching out for help is not a sign of weakness but of strength.
So also is the acceptance of mental disability as something to reckon with. For, it takes a lot to accept and to ask for help.
By the way, the world marked October 10 as Mental Health Day.
Vidya Shankar
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Oct 13, 2018)
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/d806ff7b-b48a-4955-9e4f-167fd0a80592.aspx
Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk
You can buy it at this link:
https://notionpress.com/read/the-flautist-of-brindaranyamwww.facebook.com
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