Our generation is made of dreamers, explorers, achievers, no doubt we’re so busy all the time. Busy with making sure we have a financially secure future, making the most of the youth we have left, managing our love and sex life, paying bills, engaging in experiences that claim to be life-changing… and most of them truly are too. We’re also looking at alternate careers, taking life one day at a time, we can be equally lost, looking for something that excites us and keeps us going. I guess, what I am saying is we’re so occupied with everything that is happening around us that we forget to look or care about what’s happening within. We get so caught-up with online check-ins that we forget to check up on ourselves until it hits us like a bag of bricks.
I wrote this piece a while ago and as we begin with our initiative, I felt like it was time to share this with everyone out there. I’ve binge-watched multiple shows that talk about mental health and how it affects us and the one thing they spoke to me about the most was starting a conversation. It’s what we’re trying to do as well because it has to be a collective effort of people coming together, talking, helping each other to get over our fears and spread a little kindness while we’re at it.
We often don’t take topics like mental health and wellness too seriously but I am hoping we can change that too. Being a part of this generation, I know that we can’t stop dreaming our dreams or living the lives we do. I know we can’t stop that but we can take a pause every once in a while to put things into perspective, to give our priorities a reality-check. I think we owe that much to ourselves, no?
The above poem speaks about exactly how I felt at that point; scared, alone, confused and filled with a significant amount of self-hate. I’ve had my lows but trust me there is nothing that a conversation can’t help overcome and I say this having been through it myself. We are surrounded by people we love and trust and who care about us. We are surrounded by professionals who can help understand what we can’t sometimes. So, if you feel like something’s wrong, unjust, scary and dangerous or if you are not in the right mind space because of something, just find a person you can trust and open up to them. It will be hard but it does get better; one word, one step at a time.
This poem for me is also how a cry for help works in different ways, some direct and others rather difficult to understand. But all we need to do is be there for ourselves and people we care about. Pay attention, listen, ask and just talk to them. You never know whose life you might be saving.
After all, being there is the least we can do, right?
If anyone reading this is looking for professional help or knows someone who does, you can find a crowdsourced list of therapists in India, here.
