Ya Rabb, zamana mujhko mitata hai kis liye?
Lauh e jahaan pay harf e muqarar nahin hoon main.
Ghalib
“O Divine, for what this world is erasing me?
I’m not any script written on earth, that would ever be repeated.”
Ghalib underlines two states of human existence: the world’s cruelties that human beings have to bear and their being purely ephemeral in nature. I found these words replenishing the voids between us, the travelers in this world. On the road of dissenting each other we’ve come so far that we’ve forfeited the concord and harmony between us. There are no values we live for nor the repose. That’s what destroyed our royalties and we are drowned in our oceans of guise, full of fading colours and bitter emotions. The major drawback is obvious i.e., mental chaos, depression, mood disorders and so on. It’s so deplorable how for granted we take the issues of mental health and hygiene. Also, we’ve developed a feebleminded society when it comes to mental well-being. Everyone around us isn’t at peace. Some people spread smile on their faces so that they get unnoticed. Others lock themselves up so as to escape the reality. The breakdowns that we go through are real and much more than these societal delusions. Most of the time, we find ourselves completely lost and devastated. There are various hurdles that come in the way, between us and our true selves. Many are from what and who we surround ourselves with, either on purpose or by circumstances, and others come from the critical inner voices in the back of our heads. But ultimately, it’s our own responsibility to sit down and literally ground ourselves and reassess our actions, well being, and how we choose to live our lives keeping in mind the universality of situations and their outcomes all along.
Depression is the most common and from past few years known to be the greatest silent killer. The world health organisation defines depression as a common illness characterized by persistent sadness and a loss of interest in activities that one normally enjoys, accompanied by an inability to carry out daily activities, for at least two weeks. In addition, there may be a loss of energy; a change in appetite; sleeping more or less, anxiety, reduced concentration, indecisiveness, restlessness, feelings of worthlessness, guilt, or hopelessness; and thoughts of self-harm or even committing suicide. Depending on the number and severity of symptoms, a depressive episode can be categorized as mild, moderate, or severe. There are effective treatments for depression.
WHO estimates that one in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives. Around 450 million people currently suffer from such conditions, placing mental disorders among the leading causes of ill-health and disability worldwide. Globally, the total number of people with depression was estimated to exceed 300 million in 2015, equivalent to 4.3% of the world’s population. Depression is ranked as the single largest contributor to global disability (7.5% of all years lived with disability in 2015). At its worst, depression can lead to suicide, over 800 000 people die due to suicide every year. Suicide is the second leading cause of death in 15-29-year-olds.
How pathetic is the structure of its epidemiology growing! It has to be taken care of or we can lose the leftover to it.
Depression ain’t any rocket science, it’s the misery happening with every second person we meet. Especially, during these days there’s not a single person who isn’t going through mild to severe depression. It’s not any discernible disease that might grab your attention but a crash and burn that happens abstractly inside. It’s not important what is being presented to us is always real. Most of the stories happen behind the curtains. We are witnessing huge quanta of hate around us already, why not try spreading peace and love. Peace doesn’t only mean freedom from disputes, it also means the absence of mental stress and anxiety. All the forms of love teach us respect, humbleness and Generosity. Respecting each others personal space, being humble to people who want to have time alone or vice versa and chosing generosity over malice are the nouns we need to germinate in ourselves to make this world a better place for ourselves, a place where no soul wishes death. It’s not easy to dwell in such trauma and wake up everyday with enthusiasm. Not every “how’re you?” has to be “Fine, good, okay!”, not every “smile emoji” has to be “happy” and not every “can you?” has to be answered “Yes!”. If tear brimmed eyes are encountered, sometimes a soft shoulder granted to cry on works miracles than a tissue paper. Our bit is to be the ease in someone’s pain, be a human being with humanness.
Arbeena Altaf Bhat studies medicine at SUMS, Iran
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing in the article do not reflect the views of GK.