Suicide A New outlook! Being Certain in times of Uncertainties

Is life so tough that we cannot survive?

There’s no doubt about it: life is hard. It’s a given. Life is so hard we don’t even realize how often we walk around complaining about how hard life is anymore.  It’s kind of trending, in fact.

But there’s no doubt that life is also amazing and wondering, and with the bad stuff always comes some form of goodness, even if it doesn’t feel that way at the time. If you’ve ever found yourself crying into your hands wondering why life is so hard, you are definitely not alone.

But humanity is slowly, albeit painfully slowly, starting to realize that a lot of the bad things that happen to us do not actually happen to us, they are just things that happen.  It’s our negative attitude or disposition that turns neutral circumstances into something full of despair and anger, confusion and frustration.

You got it: emotions, thoughts, and feelings. They are what make life so damn hard. But there are other things too. Here are four reasons why life continues to be so hard for you.

As if life has no value?

We could live life — perhaps as animals do — without judging whether it is good or bad, meaningful or meaningless, or worthwhile or not. However, we do not. We make judgements about the value of life, concluding that life has no value or great value, and then may attempt to convince each other that we have placed the proper value on life.

It is not just philosophers who perform these evaluations. Many people, whether they realize it or not, compare their own lives, or life in general, to their expectations or desires, and then render a judgement about whether life, as they have experienced and view it, measures up to the standard they have adopted to judge it. There is a wide range of sophistication with these evaluations and judgements. At one extreme are simple, commonly uttered statements such as «life is good» or life is terrible, where it may be unclear how the person reached the conclusion they did.

Why we are succumbing to pressure and stress?

Be careful not to confuse pressure with stress – they are quite different. Pressure can be a very positive quality. Experiencing it, yet feeling calm and in control, can spur people on to achieve great things. It’s only when it keeps building and that sense of calm and order is replaced by a feeling of being out of control that stress happens, and has a wholly negative effect.

Whether you can’t stop snapping at people, can’t stop drinking, or can’t stop thinking stupid thoughts, feeling out of control can be frustrating. Sometimes it’s scary, and sometimes it’s exciting… until we wake up the next day and realize what we’ve done.

It’s normal to feel out of control every once in a while. We all make mistakes and do things we regret. But if you find yourself losing control all the time, there’s probably more going on.

Logical decisions take more brain power than emotional ones. The more distracted we are, the harder it is to think logically. Here are just a few things that can make it harder to control your behaviors:

Why worry about things you can’t control when you can keep yourself busy controlling the things that depend on you?”

 Transform your stress in to challenge?

You constantly hear how bad stress is for you: it’s damaging your health, jeopardizing your relationships, and hurting your performance. While these risks are real, recent research is showing that work strain, when managed correctly, can actually have a positive impact on productivity and performance. So how can you take the stress you thought was killing you and make it constructive?

Stress is unavoidable. “We live in a world of ongoing worry, change, and uncertainty. You have to get used to it,” says experts. “Stress is an inevitable part of work and life, but the effect of stress upon us is far from inevitable, Stress can be good or bad depending on how you use it,” they say.

Experts advise the following five ways to manage the stress…

Recognize worry for what it is

Then, reframe the stress

Focus on what you can control

Create a network of support

Get some stress-handling experience

Think of stress as an indicator that you care about something, rather than a cause for panic then Focus on the task, rather than the emotion and finally Build relationships so that you have people to turn to in times of stress.  At the same time don’t assume your stress is going to last forever, don’t worry about things that are out of your control and finally don’t spend time with people .who are negative

Challenging suicidal thoughts are very important:?

Whatever is going on for you that has led to how you’re feeling right now is unique to you – but having suicidal thoughts is not. You are not alone, lots of people have thought about killing themselves and have found a way through. Having suicidal thoughts can be overwhelming and frightening. It can be very difficult to know what to do and how to cope. You may feel very depressed or anxious or you may just feel really bad and not know what the feelings are.

You may feel like you are useless and not wanted or needed by anyone. You may be feeling hopeless about the future or powerless, like nothing you do or say can change things. You may be blaming yourself for things that have happened in your life, and you might think it would be easier for others if you weren’t here. You may not even know why you feel suicidal, and think that you have no reason to want to kill yourself. Because of this, you may feel guilty and ashamed, and start feeling even worse.

It can feel much worse if no-one knows what you are going through or how bad you feel. You don’t need to be alone. There are people who are willing, able and available to help you.

Thinking positive in any circumstances can change you as person?:

Happiness and optimism were both linked to a lower risk of heart disease and stroke, with the most optimistic people having the greatest benefits. The study, published in the journal Psychological Bulletin, also found that optimistic and happy people tended to have healthier lifestyles. They exercised more, ate better, and slept more. In addition, they were less likely to have risk factors for heart disease and stroke, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity. All of this is known to contribute to better heart health.

Does being happy or optimistic make the heart healthy, or does a positive attitude just encourage healthy behaviors? The study was not large enough to answer that question, but negative psychological factors—like stress and depression—have already been found to increase the risk of heart attacks.

Staying positive, then, may work the other way, such as by lowering blood pressure and cholesterol. Even if you aren’t upbeat all the time don’t let that get you down. Healthy eating and exercise are still an important part of lowering your risk of heart disease and stroke. There are also psychiatric interventions, like behavioral therapy, that can help you find a more positive outlook on life, even when confronted by your overly perky coworkers.

Being Proactive can help much?:

Positive thinking, or an optimistic attitude, is the practice of focusing on the good in any given situation. It can have a big impact on your physical and mental health.

That doesn’t mean you ignore reality or make light of problems. It simply means you approach the good and the bad in life with the expectation that things will go well.

Many studies have looked at the role of optimism and positive thinking in mental and physical health. It’s not always clear which comes first: the mindset or these benefits. But there is no downside to staying upbeat.

Smile more, reframing once situation, Positive hope on future, Focusing on Strengths keep one to be more positive.

 At the end, it is not your fight alone and you are not the only one fighting and facing such challenges is what ultimately brings back one from these dirty thoughts of suicide.  So nothing happens when you fight may be some time you may lose that’s it.

Be Positive and live with hope. Ultimately it is being certain during uncertainties will prevent one from taking these extreme steps.

This article is prepared for 10th September, World Suicide Prevention Day

Dr. Johnsey Thomas,

Lifestyle Psychologist and Strategist Health-Wellness

EAP Consultant Certified Cognitive Behavioral Therapist,

Aster Prime Hospital, Ameerpet, Hyderabad

 

AMEERPETASTER PRIME HOSPITALCOVID19

DR. JOHNSEY THOMASEAP CONSULTANT CERTIFIED COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPISTHYDERABADLIFESTYLE PSYCHOLOGISTSTRATEGIST HEALTH-WELLNESS

Mental Health for All Greater Investment – Greater Access

Mental health is one of the most neglected areas of public health. Close to 1 billion people are living with a mental disorder, 3 million people die every year from the harmful use of alcohol and one person dies every 40 seconds by suicide. And now, billions of people around the world have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which is having a further impact on people’s mental health.

Mental disorders comprise a broad range of problems, with different symptoms. However, they are generally characterized by some combination of abnormal thoughts, emotions, behaviour and relationships with others. Examples are schizophrenia, depression, intellectual disabilities and disorders due to drug abuse. Most of these disorders can be successfully treated.

Yet, relatively few people around the world have access to quality mental health services. In low- and middle-income countries, more than 75% of people with mental, neurological and substance use disorders receive no treatment for their condition at all. Furthermore, stigma, discrimination, punitive legislation and human rights abuses are still widespread.

COVID – 19 & Hampered Response

The limited access to quality, affordable mental health care in the world before the pandemic, and particularly in humanitarian emergencies and conflict settings, has been further diminished due to COVID-19 as the pandemic has disrupted health services around the world. Primary causes have been infection and the risk of infection in long-stay facilities such as care homes and psychiatric institutions; barriers to meeting people face-to-face; mental health staff being infected with the virus; and the closing of mental health facilities to convert them into care facilities for people with COVID-19.

With the disruption in health services, countries are finding innovative ways to provide mental health care, and initiatives to strengthen psychosocial support have sprung up. Yet, because of the scale of the problem, the vast majority of mental health needs remain unaddressed. The response is hampered by chronic under-investment in mental health promotion, prevention and care for many years before the pandemic.

Mental Health Infrastructure and Challenges Ahead in India

In India, 10 per cent of the population has common mental disorders and 1.9 per cent of the population suffers from severe mental disorders. Schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder (BPAD), depression, anxiety disorders, psychoses, phobia, suicide, mood disorders, neurotic or stress related disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, marital disharmony, sleep disorders, alcohol dependence and substance misuse and dementia are becoming common problems in the general population.

Mental illnesses are not only underreported in India but are not reported at all. Still whatever data is available; it clearly depicts the dreadful stage that we have reached in terms of our mental health. A total of 197.3 million people in India are estimated to be suffering from any mental disorder. In our case maximum load of mental illness is coming from Depression and Anxiety disorder with a striking 45.7 million and 44.9 million being prey to it respectively, whereas 7.5 million are suffering from Bipolar and 3.5 million from Schizophrenia. And we also need to understand that people having mild depression may report and seek help more easily than someone having Severe Mental illness.

In context of the present COVID-19 situation where there is likelihood of grave mental health problems in communities, with the given challenges it is going to be an uphill task for the nation. It is estimated that 10 to 20 persons out of 1000 population suffer from severe mental illness and 3 to 5 times more have emotional disorder. 

With such a horrific state of mental health, our counter mechanism to deal with it lacks significantly. Although the Government of India has taken a number of commendable measures, but unfortunately having Law codes and Policies on paper doesn’t really help much if the implementation at ground-level is not ensured by all the concerned actors, especially State level Government and Civil society need to work together with uniformity.

The major challenges faced by Indian mental health system are lack of knowledge about the mental illnesses as well as lack of adequate mental health services. The inadequacy exists in both areas, for example, infrastructure and human resources. India spends < 2 per cent of its annual health budget on mental health which is far less than many countries of the world. 

We have a dismal status in mental health care resources. With a population of more than 1.3 billion only around 9000 psychiatrists exist. A mere 0.75 Psychiatrists cater to about one lakh population in India whereas the desired number is above 3, in US and Europe there are 16 and 10 Psychiatrists to serve 100000 population respectively. US have almost 30 percent of World’s total Psychiatrists. At State level only Kerala has 1 psychiatrist per 1 lakh population.

World Mental Health Day: an opportunity to commit

The World Mental Health Day campaign will offer opportunities, primarily online given the continuing pandemic, for all of us to do something life-affirming: as individuals, to take concrete actions in support of our own mental health, and to support friends and family who are struggling; as employers, to take steps towards putting in place employee wellness programmes; as governments, to commit to establishing or scaling-up mental health services; and as journalists, to explain what more can and must be done to make mental health care a reality for everyone.

It is nearly 30 years since the first World Mental Health Day was launched by the World Federation for Mental Health.  Since then it is observed that an increasing openness to talk about mental health in many countries of the world.  But now turn these words into actions.  We need to see concerted efforts being made to build mental health systems that are appropriate and relevant for today’s – and tomorrow’s - world.  With so many people lacking access to good quality, appropriate mental health services, investment is needed now more than ever.

Countries spend on average only 2% of their health budgets on mental health. Despite some increases in recent years, international development assistance for mental health has never exceeded 1% of all development assistance for health. This is despite the fact that for every US$ 1 invested in scaled-up treatment for common mental disorders such as depression and anxiety, there is a return of US$ 5 in improved health and productivity.

Move for Mental Health: Let’s Invest

The world is already seeing the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s mental well-being, and this is just the beginning. Unless we make serious commitments to scale up investment in mental health right now, the health, social and economic consequences will be far-reaching. During the past few months, the World Health Organization has issued, in collaboration with partners, guidance and advice on mental health for health workers and other frontline workers, managers of health facilities, and people of all ages whose lives have changed considerably as a result of the pandemic. 

That’s why, for this year’s World Mental Health Day, WHO, together with partner organizations, United for Global Mental Health and the World Federation for Mental Health, is calling for a massive scale-up in investment in mental health. To encourage public action around the world, a World Mental Health Day campaign, Move for mental health: let’s invest has been kicked off.