This whole mental health push feels like it is getting over the top
Sure there is a lot to do.
Yes, its great more people are in it.
But it feels like people are in it because it’s the next bandwagon. And it’s the “next big thing” so we need to be seen as part of this wave to do it – like the “I’m cool too” badge of honour.
We talk about how to fix it, how to prevent it, reports, statistics, comparisons across age and gender, corporate social responsibility… There are conferences, toolkits, fact sheets, articles… neverending articles….
But no one is asking “WHY?” – not as in why an individual is depressed and the triggers and traumas they have been through, but why is there such large scale depression and anxiety in the society?
Why are we paying so much attention to our mental health these days?
Why is this happening now? And not a year ago and not a year later?
What is going on in the world now that we as a collective, are depressed and anxious?
It is too simplistic to blame it on work or lifestyle or upbringing or education pressure. There must be something deeper, something we do not understand.
Maybe it is the collective cry of those who are worried about earth. Maybe it is because some of us are more focused on their own gains that others are sacrificed and discriminated against, manifesting in wide scale mental health challenges. Maybe it is because it is a blanket wake-up call for all humanity, of how inhumane we are to ourselves and others.
So maybe to “cure” depression isn’t about medication, funny brain wave changing gadgets, breathing, or even therapy. Maybe it is about taking a stance against ourselves, and thinking about the collective and systemic environment.
And maybe we do not need to cure it at all. Maybe it is about all of us asking “What is depression telling me about me, about relationships, about us, and about the world?” And then to focus energy and efforts on addressing those messages instead, change those situations instead, and then the depression might dissipate?
Can we look beneath the surface symptoms we see, and not just blindly follow a trend?
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