Healthy Mind, Healthy You

As they say, many are mad but few are on the street and I totally agree with that. Some of us are just out there going about our daily activities but in truth, things are not working well in our station up there. Where I come from, people only go to the hospital when they are bedridden. Aside that, even symptoms of a sickness wouldn’t push them to visit the clinic.

It’s more like we are waiting to be on the brink of death before we seek for help and that should not be the case. You’d only find just a few people out of the lot going to the hospital to seek help when they feel something is wrong. If I’m to talk about general check up then most of us are guilty as charged. It’s more like we know but we don’t care which is very sad to think about. But I guess you can blame it on the system. Gone were the days when our parents used to take us for checkup up every month but today, even having access to quality healthcare is a luxury for the average Ghanaian citizen. I believe that sometimes most people don’t really have a choice because they can’t afford the cost of healthcare.

Growing up, I have seen the way of life of my people and it’s more than obvious that most of our elders knew nothing about mental health which may be due to the fact that they were illiterates. But thanks to evolution and technology, we the youth of today at least know what we feel, when we feel it and we also know how to express our feelings. This I think is the first step to change.

Personally, my mental health is very important to me as I know myself and what not prioritizing my mental health can do to me. As an over-thinker and someone who mostly falls into depression, I have come to understand how important it is for me to constantly maintain a positive and healthy state of mind. Once the mind is not well, the whole body automatically follows chain. You’d agree with me that when you feel sad or depressed, it shows in your actions, body language and even speech. That should tell you how important mental health is. Fortunately for me, I have had the opportunity to work in the psychiatric ward with doctors and patients and that has actually changed my perspective on mental health totally. Did you know that you have to see a doctor when you are stressed out? Yes you do! I bet you most of us didn’t know this and even if someone told us, we wouldn’t believe.

The brain is more like the engine room of the whole body and so we must always make sure everything is okay up there. In the years to come, I look forward to seeing a community and country where mental health is being made a priority and awareness is being created for all to know how important our mental health is to us as individuals. Be kind to yourself and ask for help when needed. You deserve it!

all images belong to me.