By Vanessa Cort
IN recent years, celebrities and popular sports personalities have been letting the world know of their mental health challenges. Some have even withdrawn from competitions and from the limelight to deal with their mental wellness.

The message to anyone suffering from similar problems has been, ‘You are not alone. It can happen to anyone.’ In addition, these famous voices have been helping to lift the veil of silence surrounding the issue of mental health.

For too long there has been such a heavy taboo and stigma attached to mental illness that sufferers have felt compelled to either ignore, deny or refuse to discuss their problems.

Families, too, have been guilty of attempting to cover up the mental health issues of family members, for fear of embarrassment or even ridicule. The result has been that sufferers do not get the medical attention they deserve, causing a worsening of their condition.

Society as a whole must also bear some of the responsibility for this state of affairs because of our collective mishandling of mental illness and those who experience it.

As we celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month under the theme, “Back to Basics,” taking a look at life after two years of living with COVID-19, we are being urged to expand our knowledge and understanding of mental health. And the Mental Health Foundation has announced ‘Loneliness’ as its theme, paying particular attention to the isolation many felt during the pandemic.

I have no doubt that this ‘month’ is also meant to force the public at large to acknowledge and give credence to the very real nature of mental health illness, particularly when statistics tell us that one in five persons, globally, is affected. As such, this is a matter we can no longer continue to disparage or to ignore to the point where persons have to actually begin to show signs of insanity before we show concern.

Just as we routinely pay attention to our physical well-being, we must be cognisant of and equally concerned about our mental health. For while members of the medical profession recognise the ever-widening spectre of mental illness, society still is loathe to come to terms with its very existence.

We in this country, who also fall into the global statistics, are still guilty of ‘turning a blind eye’ to mental illness until it reaches the point of what we call ‘madness,’ when we become dismissive, feeling that the condition is untreatable and the person should be shunted off to the ‘mad house.’

We often ignore the signs of individuals’ mental deterioration and therefore fail to help by getting them the treatment they need at the early stages of their illness, paying no heed to the tenet that you must ‘nip in the bud’ something of this nature before it gets worse.

There are many early warning signs of mental health problems and experts give some of these as: eating or sleeping too much or too little; pulling away from people and usual activities; having low or no energy; feeling helpless or hopeless or like nothing matters; smoking, drinking or using drugs excessively; and experiencing severe mood swings that cause problems in relationships.

And the definition of mental health is given as inclusive of “our emotional, psychological and social well-being,” which affects, “how we think, feel and act” and also helps determine “how we handle stress, relate to others and make choices.”

Among the many suggestions to be found for improving mental and emotional health are tips such as making face-to-face connection a priority (particularly in this age of growing  social media usage) staying active, eating ‘brain-healthy’ foods to support strong mental health and not skimping on sleep.

So during this Mental Health Awareness Month, I urge everyone to pay attention to their mental wellness and to be attentive to those around them who may show signs of being unwell.