What has become of today's people is way beyond for a normal mind to comprehend. Somehow we are all unhappy with ourselves. We have started to think that our failures are defining us. We have made our lives about people which in return has detached us from our own selves. We do not know what we really want. For people to understand us or for us to understand ourselves?
I understand that you are trying. You exhaust yourself up physically and mentally. You battle the belittling demons within you. You try to ensure your teary self in the mirror everyday that this shall pass too. And I am not necessarily talking about the profound dilemmas of your life. I am addressing the petty struggles. From waking up lost to sleeping in the fear of tomorrow. From trying to suffice your family's wishes to seeing your favorite mug break. I am talking about the little energy you use to kick start your day knowing that probably the hurt from yesterday will revisit. All in the name of hope.
I know you hate it when people say that your problems are nothing compared to the extremes. I know that is not what you want to hear. Why? Because one, you pretty much know that. Two, the last thing you want is your people to judge you for being not thankful and insensitive. Three, this will leave you thinking that no one cares about you. Hence, adding fuel to the fire. Everyone is struggling a battle within themselves that may be a pea size "big" for people, but I know, for you, there might not be something as heartbreaking as this.
That is the stigma of our society. We may anticipate physical pain with the amount of red in a wound, but we do not understand mental pain. We do not understand that not everyone is rated same on the scale of emotional stability. We all process pain and hurt differently. One may detach themselves from their mates while the other may find peace in the arms of their loved ones. So maybe it is not right to think from a set mindset while trying to understand the other person's problems. And no, it is not just about not understanding, it is also about our variable coping mechanisms that we might unintentionally and literally intensify the issue instead of providing a viable solution. Remember, not everyone is of the same tendency. Their breaking point might as well be your healing point.
So what comes next? We overrate their problems. Where we might not tell them on their faces but in our hearts we judge them. We contemplate and argue with ourselves that they are being over sensitive and it is just a matter of time before they get okay. But is it really how it works? No. In fact love, this is the tipping point.
When pain empowers hope and one starts to think that the world is better off without them they go to the other extreme. The step after which people they leave behind respond. Families are left red-eyed with hurt and shock and friends are left heartbroken and weeping. Some cry and wish for a last chance to try while the others say that they didn't even know things were so bad. Some people pray while the other "God-fearing" people use religious statements to show to others that yes they are heartlessly mourning. Whatsoever, talking is the last thing that will rectify the everlasting damage.
As a mere request, learn from your mistakes.
I know everyone of you might recall one name that has been a victim of mental health and has lost the battle. Be it an associate or the person you once saw in your school, they are gone. And how many more people need to go before it will hit you that you too are a part of this miserable journey? Yes you cannot reach to every person out there but you can at least talk to the person next to you?
Start listening. It helps. With one little action you might trigger a never ending chain reaction. And you never know, how many hearts you might be touching, how many people you might be saving.
Photo Courtesy: Saleha Adnan
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