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Friday, September 14, 2012

Mental health, as important as physical health?


The moment I read the name board 'Psychiatrist'.... I asked that elder, with whom I was 'allowed' to take a walk in the evening ... “Uncle, psychiatrist ... for both?”... “What both?” he asked...
“Humans and animals..” I tried... not quite sure, if I was suppose to broaden the base further...
That uncle burst into laughter! In those days, it was the privilege of those 'uncles' to simply ignore us, and deprive us the taste of that wit, the humour for which, may be we kids even deserved part-payment of royalties/copyrights etc!
...
Okay, it got 'almost' settled that ..... may be .... the animals never needed it... I could 'see' in fact, that the animals are either in their natural habitat, or under captivity, and so the responsibility is only with the veterinarian when it comes to any health problem for an animal under captivity (physical or mental)... But a new query arose... when we have a psychiatrist, does it make us humans to be superior or inferior in terms of vulnerability to such health care?... Mental health, to be precise?... (Maybe, some where around there, it occured to me, that there was scope to take care of my own mental health too! But, sadly, there was no 'known structure' in place, to nurture and nourish my mental health! Some consolation was that not all the Uncles and Aunts around had similar health condition.... those remarks about each other, percolated into my tiny brain, to reassure me that it was okay to be normally-abnormal, as an adult! Yes... when it comes to parents, till we are dependent, 'boss is always right'... is the first rule... and the second one, 'when in doubt, refer to rule number one'!)...
...
Compatibility issues made that mental-health a bit complex... that was when we became a bit choosy about our friends... at that kid age, anybody is almost okay...
...
This compatibility issue chases us only till we decide upon the spouse, and after that, it is about who decides thereafter!
...

Somebody asked, about importance of mental health, in comparision to physical health...
(I could hardly hold back the flood of memory relating to that 'issue', while answering!)
I quote the brief question-answer, herein, below.
psn(14th September, 2012)


The question:
Why is mental health as important as physical health?
....
My answer:
Because we have the ability to choose!
Mental health is not a prescription for animals, etc! They are choiceless.... they have to live, they have to survive, they have to 'self-preserve' ... We can go on hunger strike also!..
So, the mind has to be healthy, to be able to make life-positive choices each time... (beyond the ethical right and wrong too!..... For example, it is 'right' to throw the precious cargo overboard a ship to save it from sinking too fast with all the human life on it!)

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