Opinion | Jacob Keeser
Mental health is becoming more and more of a mainstream topic and for good reason. Pre-pandemic mental health was noticed but was not popular to the masses to talk about in such a public way. Since the pandemic, when people were forced to stay inside the rise of awareness on mental health came about. Although there was good reason for the lockdown, it would be wrong to dismiss the effects of the lockdown. Many people were without jobs and had to isolate themselves from the outside world, and when they made it to the outside world, everyone was stand-off-ish in fear they would become ill.
Mental health is something that should be taken very seriously and thanks to the effort of the general public, it is. I am no psychiatrist, and I am not a doctor, so what I say should not be taken as medical advice and my opinions could be wrong but it is simply how I feel. In today’s America, we practice western medicine where we believe in the science of pharmaceuticals and although I believe pharmaceuticals have saved many lives and worked wonders, I believe there can be steps taken before consuming pharmaceuticals so quickly.
Personally, when I find myself in a rut or a mental state that isn’t as good as it could be, I self-analyze. Am I eating healthy? Am I spending too much time on my phone? Am I looking for quick and easy satisfaction? Am I journaling? Am I meditating? Am I exercising well?
These are the questions, along with a few others that I generally tend to ask myself if I’m not feeling my best, and from my own experience when I am not practicing these habits, I’ll find myself in a state of mind that could be better. I believe if you were to ask these questions to yourself and answer them honestly, and then if you were to practice some of the habits that need improving, you will see positive changes in your mental health.
But not everyone is the same and you could be practicing all these habits without getting the results you’d like. So, I’d say at that point it would not hurt to reach out to a professional to receive advice. My main message here is not to downgrade pharmaceuticals but rather, explore your natural options before going to the one-stop shop. As long as we all begin to make efforts to treat others the way we want to be treated and to understand, everyone has their own lives and realities, yet we all share the same earth, and how you go about one thing is how you go about it all.
Be the reason people believe in the good of other people.
