(Yusuf, Adit, and Samar are coming back from school, and they are getting ready to play in the park. After some time, we all went to the park and started playing. When they got tired, they took a break. Yusuf began to drink lemon juice. Before Samar and Adit, he felt energetic.)
Samar: Yusuf, how are you feeling energetic so early? Adit and I are still feeling tired.
Adit: yes Samar, you are right but how?
Yusuf: I don’t know, it might be because of lemon juice that my mother gave me.
(a girl, Priyanka comes.)
Priyanka: hello everybody.
Samar, Adit & Yusuf: hi priyanka, why are you so late?
Priyanka: I was busy in my work, but let it be.
Tell me what were you guys discussing?
Samar, Adit & Yusuf: We were discussing that how Yusuf felt energetic before us?
Priyanka: I think he is physically fit than you both.
Samar & Adit: No Priyanka, we are also physically fit.
But how come only he felt energetic before us?
Samar: Yusuf thinks it might be because of the lemon juice.
Priyanka: Yes. It’s correct! Because lemon juice is healthy for our physical health. It contains vitamin C, which maintains our energy level.
Samar, Adit, Yusuf: okay! But what is physical health?
Priyanka: Physical Health is related to our body which we all can see or feel (touch) with our naked eyes or with the help of scientific instruments & in a similar way if we are facing any physical injury or illness that too we can see.
More specifically, for many illnesses, we can see the symptoms of that illness and not the actual disease. For example, fever. We actually cannot see it but how do we get to know about it?
Yusuf: with the temperature of our body.
Adit: we feel colder than others.
Samar: we cannot taste the food properly.
Priyanka: Now tell me, what other illnesses are there which we cannot touch like physical ones?
Adit: Yes! Like tension, depression.
Yusuf: Anger, Sadness.
Samar: Anxiety too. loneliness and guilty?
Priyanka: absolutely right guys. But what type of illnesses are these?
Adit, Samar, Yusuf: No, we don’t know.
Priyanka: Just think as fever, cold, fractured bones are physical type illnesses. What type of previous ones you spoke about?
Samar: Mental health illnesses.
Yusuf: Yes! I was about to say.
Adit: Even me too.
Priyanka: Correct it is. So what is mean by mental health?
Samar: I guess, it might be all related with our brain?
Yusuf: It might also be about our thinking?
Adit: Yes, but I’m still not getting it exactly. Will you please elaborate it?
Priyanka: Samar and Yusuf, whatever you said that’s actually right. But this is not the wholesome. It’s much more than that.
First, you all tell me, have you ever felt guilty?
Samar, Adit, Yusuf: Yes, many times.
Priyanka: Have you ever felt angry, sad?
Samar, Adit, Yusuf: Yes, some times.
Priyanka: Does it mean we all are mental?
Samar, Adit, Yusuf: No, we are not mental.
Priyanka: Exactly, if we feel tensed, lonely, angry or guilty it doesn’t mean we are mental.
There is a limit for everything. If the limit is crossed, only then it become mental illness.
Samar, Adit, Yusuf: okay.
Priyanka: Tell me, do you think there is any relation between physical health and mental health?
Yusuf: Yes, when we think negative in our mind then physically we act like that.
Priyanka: okay, can anyone give me an example for it?
Samar: Yes. I can give an example. Just imagine that I am running in a race and I think that I will lose as the other boy is faster but in reality I was faster than him. As I thought that the other boy is faster than me and I lost the match.
Priyanka: So, your negative thought affected your physical action. Correct?
Samar: Yes!
Priyanka: In the same way, let’s assume there is a person of an age of 45 and who is physically fit, economically sound and enjoying his life as he wanted to live. But suddenly and unfortunately he got paralyzed. Now at his 45, he is fully dependent on others where he is taking help from others. But before getting paralyzed he was helping others. Imagine how he might be feeling currently?
Yusuf: First, he was not thinking negatively but now just because of his dependency; his thoughts might be changing into negative.
Samar: He might be feeling tensed, sad, and lonely also.
Adit: Even he could feel depressed.
Priyanka: Absolutely correct. What does it mean? Is there any relation between physical and mental health?
Samar, Adit, Yusuf: Yes, mental health is dependent on physical health.
Priyanka: Correct! And can we say vice a versa also? Means, is physical health dependent on mental health?
(Thinking all of them)
Samar: yes, it is. Because the person who is not well mentally healthy may took wrong decisions and just because he is disturbed he cannot take care of his physical health also.
Priyanka: very good. Correct!
We are taught Math’s, Science and History.
We are taught how to write a CV.
We are taught how to communicate.
We are taught how finding a good career is important.
We are taught physical education as well. We are taught to bath, to brush, keep the body clean.
We are told about keeping our house and neighborhoods clean as well.
What we are not taught how important MENTALHEALTH is.
We are not taught how to handle Emotions, Feelings, Success, Failures and Relationships.
We are not taught how TO HANDLE STRESS.
It’s extremely sad that people are giving up on life.
Mental Health is as much important as Physical Health.
Time to attend to it NOW.
We fail as a society if we allow our fellow brothers and sister to succumb to mental illness. So for the whole betterment of our health, we have to take care of both physical and mental health because both are interdependent.