I got a random text, a random day. This is what it said.

What followed when I heard her say that, were words of encouragement. Of course, what she had to say after is something that we all feel on the inside.

We are scared, we fear the possibility of judgement if we were to share our secrets with someone else. Hell, it might even be tough to open up sometimes. Even if not for all of these reasons, the thought of seeking help for your mind could be embarrassing, after all, If you seek professional help for your mind, there is definitely something irreversibly wrong with you, right? WRONG!

Depression, anxiety and other mental health issues are illnesses that could get anyone. It is as normal as catching a cold, fever, or suffering from a heart disease.

Mental Health help gets a bad rep by default because of obvious reasons, if something is deemed wrong with you mentally, or even if you seek out for help, it could make people doubt your competency, your status. Since your mind makes you who you are, accepting you might need help with it also could make people think there is something fundamentally wrong with you. Society could finally bash you for being the oddball. So I do understand the hesitation, but the question is, are you willing to sacrifice your happiness and wellbeing for what the society may or may not end up thinking of you? Does your wellbeing and happiness weigh less than your worry of how people might look at you?
My answer? I'd say lets re define how we look at it.

A subject matter expert is an individual with a deep understanding of an area.

In data analytics, professionals often rely on subject matter experts to validate their findings, businesses often rely on these subject matter experts to help them solve complex problems which bring in $. In a culture where we admire great businesses that racks up $ like crazy, my question is, why do we hesitate to apply the same strategy to our lives? Why not consider racking up all that peace to your mind? If big businesses with trillion-dollar evaluations don't shy away from seeking out a subject matter expert to help them out, why can't you for the sake of your happiness?

Even though with bad analogies, the point remains. There is no shame in seeking help, Instead, it's smart to seek help to cut your learning curve. Attacking a problem solo is commendable but when you find yourself back at where you started multiple times with the same misery, its time to ask yourself, time to reconsider. Once you do, give therapy a try and see what happens.

Mental health professionals are trained in human behavior and cognition. They see and observe much clearly than everyone else including yourself, and help bring clarity to your decisions and your life.

My friend is from Texas, I met her while she was touring India. Did you know the United States has about 13 psychiatrists per 100,000 people. With millennials and early Gen Zs, mental health awareness has seen rapid growth. The same cannot be said for India.

Here are some quick stats

A WHO report revealed 7.5 percent of the Indian population suffered from some form of mental disorder, WHO also had predicted that this percentage would increase to 20 percent by 2020. To cater to that big number India has around 4000 mental health professionals. To make matters worse, over 70 percent of people with mental health illnesses never seek out treatment.

Mental Health Research UK, found 42 percent of the employees in India's corporate sector suffer from depression or an anxiety disorder. Almost every second employee. Well, let that sink in.

We hire a chef to cook for us at times, an electrician to help with our electrical equipment, a doctor for issues with our health, so why not consider a Mental health professional who could help you sort out your tangled mind.

It's paramount we changed the state of mental health. All it takes is for you to be kind to yourself and others. Seek out help if you need it, encourage others to do the same.

 

It's one of those days. You're curled up in a corner almost feeling numb, with many butterflies in your stomach and a faint feeling in your heart racing like you're just about to miss a very important flight, wondering why life is like this? You gather up the courage to finally admit to yourself “maybe I should talk to someone” and with that realization comes a feeling of hope that things will go uphill from here. “ I've identified what my problem is now all I've got to do is work on it and I'll feel okay in no time” but only if it were that easy. Finding help for mental challenges is not as get a prescription for the flu. It's much more complicated than that.

Realization of the fact that you might need help doesn't bring you the calm and composure that one might assume it would. When you are alone with yourself and realize you need help, a wave of positivity doesn't brush you ashore, but the tide of reality carries you away and you're surrounded by the storm. Trying to stay afloat but feeling so alone and helpless waiting and wishing for a boatman to hold and tell you “ Hey, I've got you. You're safe now” Telling people around you doesn't bring you to support that you thought it would, it just keeps making it real and real until it scares you numb. Everything you're trying just doesn't seem to help because it just keeps getting real and harder every time you talk about it. It pushes you down a rabbit hole and it keeps difficult as each day passes. You see people around you trying to help but it doesn't bring you the calm the boatman did so you keep doubting yourself and push your loved ones away.

But you have to be certain not to give up because that's when your progress starts. Hope and diligence are the only things that are going to help you get through this. Choosing to get out of it is the only way to deal with it. The need and want to get better has to come from within to give you the perseverance to face the day. It seems hard which it is, but it gets easier. It gets easier every day but for that, you have to do it every day.

Opening yourself up in front of your therapist can be one of the most challenging parts of the process, exposing your vulnerabilities to a stranger is one of the hardest parts of seeking help. But you have to remember that therapy is a two-way process, no one can help you until you help yourself and that realization can help make all the difference.

Anxiety disorders can play a huge role in affecting your relationship with your partner even though there's plenty of information online, there will be days you are still going to be clueless about how to manage and support your partner in these tough times. Here's a guide to help you through the process

1. Help them seek treatment.
   When someone has anxiety menial tasks like looking and seeing out for help and support can be severely challenging for them. Be supportive and help them find the right treatment that suits them well. Helping them with small stuff like offering them to drive them to their doctor's appointment can make a world of a difference.


2. Don't try to fix them
   Try to be mindful and give them as much space as possible at this time. Be kind to them and be patient. Remember these things take time. Dealing with anxiety can be extremely debilitating. Fight the urge to over do things


3. Pay attention to your own needs
   Remember to be mindful of your own needs, seek help yourself if you want to. Seeking help might help you understand your partner's situation better. Notice how dealing with them every day is impacting you and take steps accordingly. It can be anything ranging from seeking therapy yourself or having some self care alone time during fixed hours of the day. Identify what you need and be there for yourself first.


4. Set healthy boundaries and expectations
   Although you might want to be at hand for them whenever they might need you, setting boundaries for you and them can be extremely beneficial as it helps you realize what and how much you can do for them. Setting expectations play a similar role by specifying what basic needs of your you need your partner to fulfill to help you gain bandwidth to support them and avoiding feeling neglected


5. Be open to learning
   Always be more keen and interested in learning more about your partner's situation. Research, talk to doctors and gain more insights about they're health. Everyone has a different approach that works for them, learn what works for you and your partner. Learn about their triggers and comfort and grow together

Being there for someone with anxiety is a challenge but being prepared enough can help you get through this difficult time. Love and support eachither through it all and everything is possible.