How people portray mental health on social media?

How people portray mental health on social media?

We are living in a world where we see mental health being such a viral term on social media. Mental health has become a trending term on social media that most people feel abided towards it and its leading us to shift towards the side of social desirability at times, unknowingly. There is a need to develop an insight that just talking about mental health on social media will not help but more about taking into consideration the severity of the situation and acting upon it will help. People who are going through an emotional roller coaster must be given importance rather than negligence. It has been observed that many people are coming forward to share their problems, who aim at achieving something and take step to untangle their life. This step should not only be talked about on social media sites but also be acknowledged in reality.

When we look around we see many people using statements like “I am very depressed”, “I am having Anxiety Disorder” on social media stories, posts. People make use of disorders like adjectives and also in a very casual way without any clinical significance. Disorder names are used in a humorous manner where terms like OCD, Depression, Anxiety, Bipolar, etc. are posted on social media platforms and in reality, we might not really be aware of the complexity of these words. We have made mental health terms and disorders so generalized that the intensity of the problem is not understood. It is essential to understand that anxiety is not just being nervous and depression is not just being sad and this works for several other problems. Generalization of the terms is making all of us neglect the actual problem. When someone talks about their illness/problems, we tend to react in a normal manner by generalizing it, without considering the depth of the problem we respond by saying “everyone is going through the same”. We even talk about the phrase “it’s okay not to be okay” but why we see no acceptance about the statement when it comes to being empathetic with the people facing difficulties, who actually need help and who struggle to maintain their well-being we respond casually and don’t look into the situation. Even if we see ourselves evolved in the field of mental health some of us still abide and stay constrained by our conceptions and personal biases. All of these things are creating a negative impact on society and needs to change.

Apart from the negatives of social media it also helps us to come across mental health organisations which are trying to put forth the importance of mental health through creating awareness. These organizations are working towards helping people towards better well-being. It helps in giving people a sense of direction towards mental health and actually bringing about change in society. The mental health of the people has gone on a toll in the current time. Many of them are now taking intuitive decisions, overcoming their issues, and developing into mentally fit individuals. Talking about mental health is not enough but addressing it, sensitizing it, and creating a healthy and safe environment is important. Writing quotes, paragraphs, and views about mental health won’t really help the people till the time we start implementing those things in reality. When we say mental health is equally important as physical health it should be taken up in practice. We might not know what battle an individual is fighting in their life and we can help them out with their problems by providing them a safe space not only on social media but also in person.

Along with mental health promotions, mental ill-health prevention should also be looked upon with equal importance.
One should not let people’s opinions lead to self-doubt or divert them towards a pessimistic outlook. Our biggest toxic trait is running away from our toxic traits so, to have a healthy self, one needs to value their inner being.