Just the other day a woman in my neighborhood jumped from her 9th-floor balcony, taking her life, and leaving behind 3 toddlers. Everyone was shocked - it was a traumatic experience that affected the whole community! Her tragic death made it to the local newspaper. In the following days, I got a lot of messages on Facebook asking me if I knew this person and what had happened. One message that stood out to me was from a man in the neighborhood. He said, "How could she do this to her young children?"
This question really upset me because it reminded me that when death by suicide happens no one cares about the victim. Nobody cares what the suicide victims underwent, maybe days, months, even years before committing that act. Right away my empathetic side came out and I replied to him, "Instead of being harsh and so judgmental we should think about how much pain and struggle this young mother must be in to have to taken such a step."
Then I started to cry and stayed in bed for 3 days and in between managed to make this video:
For the longest time, we were only ever taught to take care of our physical health. We ignored our mental well-being thinking that if we just worked hard enough and took care of our physical selves we could be happy and successful. However, this is not how it works; we are more than just our physical forms. Our minds, our hearts, and our spiritual selves need to be taken care of too.
Fortunately, we are gradually seeing a shift in public perception. More and more people recognize that mental wellness is as important as physical health. However, I still see a big gap in the awareness of self and mental health. When faced with challenging situations such as the death of a loved one, unexpected job loss, or a break up we often ignore our mental health needs and desires in order to get through the situation quickly and move on to the next chapter in our lives. This is a very common coping mechanism but it is one that leaves our mental and spiritual selves depleted. Financial, family, and health challenges are always going to be there. What if we began to see challenges as springboards to overcome our ability to face uncertainties and obstacles?
As someone who has struggled with mental health issues including wanting to end my own life, this is what I have to say:
-We have to stop blaming ourselves and others for experiencing mental health issues.
-It is time to remove the shame and stigma associated with mental health, especially for women after childbirth.
-We need more resources on the local, regional, national, and international level. Humans are incredibly resilient beings if we work together we can stand tall amidst any adversity.
As Buddhist philosopher Daisaku Ikeda stated “ … by struggling to overcome the pain and sadness that accompanies death, we become sharply aware of the dignity and preciousness of life and develop the compassion to share the sufferings of others as our own.” It is important that we remember mental health is not a choice, compassion is.
To hear more Sexy Brilliant thoughts on mental health check out this recent video:
What would you say to someone who is going through a mental health crisis?
Much love always, Devina Kaur™ 💕🙏💕
#SEXYBRILLIANT #TeamDevina #DevinaKaur #MentalHealth #Depression #Suicide #MentalHealthMatters #MentalHealthAwareness #SuicidalThoughts #Survivor #EmotionalIntelligence #Recovery #WomenEntrepreneur #WomenEmpowerment #WomenHelpingWomen #WomenInspiringWomen #WomenSupportingWomen #SelfLove #LoveYourself #Confidence #Indian #IndianYouTuber #Punjabi #India
