Mental Wellbeing: The 'Foundation' on which our life stands

Not only physically we are mostly unhealthy, even mentally and psychologically we not tough, to the extent required.

Balvinder kumar
Published on: 13 May 2021 11:29 AM GMT
Mental Wellbeing: The Foundation on which our life stands
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Life is undoubtedly tough and unpredictable. Over and above, we humans are highly vulnerable. Out of 20, 19 individuals suffer from one illness or more at any given time. We don't know how to live healthy and happily. Not only physically we are mostly unhealthy, even mentally and psychologically we not tough, to the extent required. We are prone to negative and toxic thoughts and we don't know how to manage our mind.

For most of us, our outer looks, physique and beauty is far more valuable than mental health

Delhi, the national capital of India has 5500 registered gyms and on average people pay around Rs 2000 plus to improve their physical health. Besides, more than 1000 beauty and spa parlours scattered in every area of the capital. According to a KPMG report, the size of India's beauty and wellness market was around Rs 80,370 crore by the end of 2018. This includes beauty product, beauty salon and spa businesses. What a craze to improve one's beauty and physical health in India!

On the other hand, we have merely 14 Vipassana centres in India. Vipassana meditation is among the popular and organised meditation practices in India. We may not be having more than 100 such centres, where qualified t e a c h e r s / p r a c t i t i o n e r s t e a c h meditation. This shows how much importance we attach to our mental health. How many people practice meditation in India, we don't find an authenticate data anywhere on net. However,

my guess is not more than 1% of population in India! On the other hand, in USA, in 2017, around 14 % of adult population practice meditation at least once a year. You know that India is the country where meditation was originated.

Tens of thousands of people go to the extent of taking their own lives because of their inability to control their distressing stream of thoughts. Sadly, since our childhood days, we have been told to care more about our looks, beauty and physique, rather than our mind. As a result, we are paying a heavy price for neglecting our critical part i.e., the mind, the foundation on which our life moves. Introduction

What about Gym for the mind

The time and energy we spend for physical exercise and sports activities, we don't pay attention to mental gym or mind's exercise. We are increasingly becoming conscious about our physical health, thanks to the awareness that's spreading rapidly especially due to social media and internet.

Visit any park, sports complex, stadium and gyms, we find people busy in walking, running, doing exercises and playing games. We find these places crowded, never seen few years back. The trend is visible even in semi-urban and rural areas. What about mental exercise? Most of us fail to appreciate the importance and value of mental exercise like meditation.

Primarily because of ignorance or certain misconceptions and myths, we don't venture into mental exercise. In India, compare to USA and certain other western countries, mindfulness and meditation has yet to become popular among masses. However, in recent times, people are getting attracted to Isha Kriya (Sadhguru) and few other types of guided meditation. Vipassana, Sudarshan Kriya (Sri Si Ravi Shanker), Raja Yoga (Brahma Kumaris),

Fragile, Flickering and Monkey Mind

Just close your eyes for half a minute and observe the mind. Thoughts arise from nowhere. What kind of thoughts will appear after few seconds; we have no idea? Our mind is extremely sensitive, vulnerable and unstable – with incessant stream of thoughts. It can make our life heaven or like a hell, depending upon the thoughts we experience. Many a times, when we want to supress some negative thoughts, then those very thoughts bounce back with more intensity. Mind is like a monkey, jumping from one set of thoughts to another in a fraction of second. Not an easy task to manage and keep the mind healthy. Our wellbeing depends entirely on the quality of thoughts we experience.

Surprisingly, our self-awareness level is generally very low

It's unbelievable but true. Though 95% of people say that they're self-aware but only 10-15% of people actually are. This is as per the research study conducted by the organisational psychologist and researcher, Dr Tash Eurich. It means nearly 80% of people are lying to themselves. Their level of self-awareness differs from person to person, from highly ignorant to partially self-aware.We humans in general are very arrogant about our own knowledge and awareness.

Have you ever met a person saying 'he/she knows very little about himself/herself?

The answer would obviously be 'no'.

What a great irony about us – knowing so little about ourselves, but feeling so confident about 'self-awareness'.

In many cases, a person knows lesser of himself / herself than what others know about them. Such persons are so self-absorbed and self-centred in their own little world that they are least self-aware and don't really know about themselves well.

Unfortunately, no one teaches about this skill to us. Majority of us are ignorant of what self-awareness is and why it's so important for us for our mental health as well as to succeed in life?

Our is the worst nation on mental sickness

Imagine over 9 crores Indians, or 7.5 percent of the country's population of 1.3 billion, suffer from some form of mental disorder, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). It's a huge number.

The prevalence rate could even be much higher, as suggested by the findings of acountrywide 2015-2016 study by India's National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences (NIMHANS) – an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. It revealed that nearly 15 crores of Indians needed active intervention while fewer than 3 crores were getting the mental care facilities.

The way the mental health conditions are increasing, the World Health Organization (WHO) has also warned that these problems will be the main cause of disability in the world in 2030. Now people, already suffering from mental health conditions are further being affected adversely by the emotional responses elicited by COVID-19 pandemic. This is resulting in further deterioration of their existing mental health condition due to chronic stress, caused by economic and psychological turmoil.

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Balvinder kumar

Balvinder kumar

Balvinder kumar is an accomplished author and a spiritual seeker, who has been sharing his thoughts on various aspects of life, science and spirituality. His three books , Man's Spiritual Journey , Awakening the Thinking Mind and Redesign Your Life In Modern Age , explore spiritual life as it primarily relates to inherent features and functioning of mind. His passions include art work by way of oil and acrylic paintings on canvas. He has displayed his work through art exhibitions. Currently he is serving as a Member UP RERA.

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