What subject is more taboo than sex?

What subject is more taboo than sex? Personally, I think it’s mental health.

I have always have a soft spot for health-related causes and years back when I was having the quarter-life crisis (sort of) on what I should pursue in life, I stumbled upon public health issues where I got to understand a little bit more about mental health. Due to stigma, discrimination and neglect in preventive care, it has become one of the unspoken disability people have in the world now. It is also one of the less researched fields since most fundings go to the communicable diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS etc. I have always thought that everyone should be given equal opportunities but how can one seizes all these opportunities if one is in bad shape, and over here, I am referring to mental health. Often, we are not aware of it because the symptoms may be minuscule and hence, we often brushed it off as our own negativities.

I can’t say that I understand fully but I do know how it felt to get swamped and overwhelmed with emotions, sobbing, not being able to pick yourself up to leave your room. And through some brave friends who decided to talk about mental health, I learnt how it affected them to the point suicide is all they can think of.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), one in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives. Around 450 million people currently (the number is increasing) suffer from such conditions, placing mental disorders among the leading causes of ill-health and disability worldwide. Treatments are available, but nearly two-thirds of people with a known mental disorder never seek help from a health professional.

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Everyone has this black dog in their life at some point in their life. I think my closest experience to mental health was this mild anxiety I experienced when I was recovering from a rather traumatising breakup. Besides losing appetite, I would wake up sweating in the middle of the night with my heart palpitating, being fidgety and often not in a calm state of mind. Thankfully and gratefully, I have great supportive friends and my guruji. And, that brings me to my next point - Yoga.

I think Yoga has helped me in my recovery. Yoga is a mindfulness practice that has allowed me to connect with my mind, heart and body, increasing sensitivity towards myself. It was hard to meditate and even practice yoga for 30 minutes in the beginning but as I kept going, my mind became calmer, entering into a more relaxed state, straying away from anxiety. I started noticing the little things around me, becoming more aware of the surrounding and my feelings. With such awareness, I was able to understand the roots of my feelings and make a conscious decision to dwell or to let go. Having experienced this, I believed that yoga is able to play its role to help people to tame their black dogs and alleviate them from these mental disabilities. That explains my aspiration to be a yoga instructor.

Another one such case study of how yoga is able to help alleviate people from their mental issues, you may check out this heartwarming project known as Prison Yoga Project, where yoga was taught in the prison to these prisoners who suffered chronic interpersonal trauma experienced early in life which then led them to commit these unimaginable crimes.

So, how are you today? Are you okay?

It’s okay to say no if you are not feeling okay. It doesn’t mean that you are weak. Instead, it is a really brave move, to acknowledge your feelings. Talk about it (or you can talk to me too :)) and be even braver to do something about it.