There is probably an infinite number of situations or occurrences that impact one’s mental health. Though awareness of mental health has increased over the past few years – moving from something I never heard about to something that, at the very least, people are talking about openly. I don’t believe there is enough emphasis on our mental health. I certainly don’t believe I place enough emphasis on my mental health.

It has been much easier for me to respond to any traditional (for lack of a better word) ailment. If I have a fever, I eat, ingest some medicine, and go to bed. If I spend all day in the field working and my body gets weary, I rest before my body shuts down on me. But I recognise that sometimes, I don’t respond as readily to things that impact my mental health. Earlier this year, when I travelled to Mahdia, for example, I saw horrific scenes and cried more than at any other point of my life. I recognised that my mental health took a toll then, but I forced myself to push my feelings aside and continue working. In retrospect, there was much more I could’ve done for my mental health because of the trauma I was exposed to. There are other days when my working hours are longer and more strenuous than expected. And I often find myself just able to get home, shower, and sleep. It is on those days that I worry the most about burning out. Now, I know much better, though every day is still a chance to learn much more.

Now that I am a bit more keen on boosting my mental health, I do quite a few things that seem to help. I am not a mental health professional, but I believe watching or playing sports (the Guyana Amazon Warriors winning the title this year certainly lifted my spirits!), spending time with friends and exercising help me regulate my emotions better and, overall, help improve my mental health. I also recently rediscovered my love for video games, which has helped me unwind after long days at work, though I will admit, I do get very frustrated when there is a ‘boss’ level I can’t seem to get past after days.

Therapy is also important. For a long time, I avoided therapy because I worried about ‘what people would think of me’ and other thoughts like that. Therapy is important because it helps you understand how your mind works and can help you determine how to better respond to challenges to your mental health whether that is the trauma you might be exposed to in your line of work, or other occurrences that impact you.

Beyond what I can say here, the Ministry of Health, in a statement released on World Mental Health Day, said it is pursuing several initiatives to help improve people’s mental well-being. Those initiatives include activities targeting students so that they can benefit from counselling and guidance. It was also noted that several awareness programmes will be held throughout this month.

Aside from these initiatives, the statement noted that Guyana has been making some legislative strides.

“The Parliament passed two modern mental health legislations to provide protection, care, and treatment to individuals with mental illnesses based on a human-rights framework. The outdated Mental Hospital Ordinance of 1930, which was replaced by the Mental Health Protection and Promotion Legislation, and the Suicide Prevention Legislation, have decriminalised suicide in Guyana. The new laws aim to replace the institutionalisation of patients with a more community-based psychiatry approach. The decentralisation principle has led to the provision of specialised psychiatric services in various regions, and Tele-Psychiatry Services are now available in specific communities. The Ministry of Health’s Mental Health Unit is currently providing training to doctors and nurses using the WHO Mental Health Gap (mhGap) program, which equips primary healthcare providers with the skills necessary for early diagnosis and management of mental health illnesses,” it noted.

I think these initiatives are important and I hope that our known human resources challenges can be resolved sooner so that more trained, well-compensated professionals are available to help people boost their mental well-being.

If you would like to discuss this column, please feel free to contact me via email: vish14ragobeer@gmail.com