“If you break your leg, you’re going to the doctor to get that leg healed. If something inside you feels like it’s wounded, it’s just like a physical injury. You have to go get help. There’s nothing weak about that. It’s strong” – President Obama

I also believe in the mind-body connection as it is the link between a person’s thoughts, attitudes, and behaviours with their physical health. When you’re stressed, you might have high blood pressure, headaches, or constipation / diarrhea, for example. We take medication to help our bodies cope with the physiological effects of emotional turmoil, but we prefer not to talk about the emotional turmoil itself.

While scientists have long understood that our emotions can affect our bodies, we’re just now beginning to understand how emotions influence health and longevity.

We have come a long way in terms of technology; however, we still have a hard time talking about mental health issues. At some point in our lives we would have gone through anxiety, depression, or panic attacks, but we tend to sweep these issues under the rug and leave them undiagnosed or untreated, whereas when we have a fever, cold, cough, or other symptoms, we seek medical attention immediately. This is because there is a stigma attached to seeking professional assistance – people think “pagal hai”, Log kya kahenge?. Stigma is frequently attributed to a lack of understanding or fear. These factors are exacerbated by inaccurate or misleading representations of mental wellness.

I believe the time has come to end mental health’s “stigma status” and give it equal weight. Since you’ve read this far, I’d like to express my gratitude for your emphasis on the importance of physical, emotional, and mental health.

Let us all work together to bring about positive change…

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. “– Dr Wayne Dyer