Are You Mentally Aware?
Mental illnesses are real. Not because I say so or because of all the advocacy going on, but because more and more people are neglecting their mental health. A larger group is oblivious to mental health issues and how raising positive mental health awareness can end the stigma around mental health matters.
Being mentally aware doesn’t make you a lesser human. It just means that you are equipped with the right knowledge to help yourself and the people in your space.
I believe that we all are capable of creating an enabling environment for Mentally ill persons to strive. But the gap still remains. This gap reflects in our uncertainties where caring for mentally ill persons are concerned. I would be the first to admit that caring for or living with a mentally ill person who is unstable and still in recovery is an uphill task. Yet, are we to turn our backs and hide under the guise of ignorant pretence?What if you do not have the gift of compassion for them? I have come to realise that the first thing that is needed is compassion. After that, money comes into the picture.
Without sufficient funding, mentally ill persons would not have access to professional medical attention and psychotherapy.
And this is the part I get weary in mental health advocacy. So much talk, little action. Let’s step up the game! Let match our words with the correspondingaction. What can you do to ensure that mentally derailed people are taken off the streets of Lagos State, of your state, of Nigeria?
How can the attention of government bedrawn to the present realities facing the mental health of the nation? How can employers ensure that the mental health of their employees are not neglected?“Neglect equals decline’, says Dondi Scumaci. If we neglect the mental health of our employees and become nonchalant, in the end, whether we let go of them or not, it will affect the economy of our nation in the long run. How? Often, these category of employees who seems to be managing their mental health, are usually highly talented and multi-gifted. What’s your take?
I will keep advocating for a conducive environment whether at home or at work, where mentally ill persons can blossom and become the best version of themselves. As God helps me, I will match my talk with my act.
