Hello, this is Experienced clinical psychologist and an expert medical writer like Becky Lindquiste have always aimed to shed light on why proper mental health can lay the foundation of a healthy community.
Mental health includes several aspects of social, psychological, and emotional well-being. Despite growing awareness, there is a still a significant amount of stigma and apprehension when it comes to speaking about the mind. In USA alone, about 19.86% of the total population has some kind of mental health issue. That is over a staggering 50 million people.
In many countries and communities, having issues with mental health is still associated with madness and this is why many choose to keep quiet about it even today. People feel afraid to talk for being labeled as “crazy” or “unstable”, choosing to isolate themselves from friends and family.
However, this is exactly what aggravates any kind of mental health issue, be it anxiety, depression, PTSD, insomnia or eating disorders. In remote areas, where access to a therapist, counselor, or psychiatrist can be very limited, being a part of a community is the next best thing. After all, who do you turn to, if not your own people?
While a sense of community can enhance the feeling of belonging somewhere, the community itself benefits when people can be open about their feelings. It leads to a strong social consciousness and everyone feels seen and heard. Looking after our mental health can be an asset for our communities, and we will see why it matters.
What Does “Community” Mean when it comes to Mental Health?
While a community can be any group of people living together, it can have a far wider meaning rather than just denoting a group of people living together in a particular geographical location.
A community can have people of same socio-cultural background, or they could identify with each other in terms of certain aspects like gender orientation, ethnicity, or age. For example, people of the African-American community are always in solidarity, no matter where they are located in the world.
In terms of mental health, it helps when people know they are not the only one suffering. People tend to isolate themselves whenever they face any kind of mental health issues, and knowing that there are others like them and battling similar conditions, can help them face their own challenges.
They can be inspired by the success stories and inspire others when they navigate their own emotions. Being a part of a support group or online peer circle is one of the best ways to feel like you belong somewhere.
Why Mental Health Matters for a Strong Community
Being aware of the condition of one’s mental health can help one have a better understanding of themselves. A strong society is made of many communities coming together.
It can be a community of adolescents who are just starting out, or a community of the elderly who only want peace once they are retired. It can be a community of LGBTQ+ people or a community of single parents. Many such communities make up a society at large, and having a strong mental health can benefit everyone. Here is how.
1. Stronger Connection
Better mental health can lead to stronger human connections. It can feel hard to talk to someone if you are isolated in your grief. Living inside your head can be a terrible thing, especially if you are located far away from your friends and family due to work or study.
Having strong mental health can lead to stronger interpersonal relations and help you maintain stronger connections. This is the foundation of any community, and it will lead to a better society.
2. Enhanced Social Skills
Better mental health leads to better social skills. When you are not in the best state of mind, it can be difficult communicating with others. Whether you are suffering from depression, anxiety or PTSD, the first instinct in such cases is to recede into a shell. You feel no one understands you and the longer you stay that way, the more difficult it gets. With therapy, you can overcome your inhibitions.
Losing trust in people is easy when one is depressed, especially when you have been betrayed or traumatized by some incident. Getting the help you require can help you get back to the mainstream.
3. Raising a Better Generation
It is important to be aware of one’s emotions and feelings if one is to raise emotionally strong children, who will be the members of the future communities. Many of the mental health issues that we face are a result on childhood trauma. Being raised by emotionally unavailable parents give rise to a host of issues, and many of them remain unresolved well into adulthood.
If we are to form better communities, we should be aware of our emotions so that we can connect to the children in ways the parents never connected with us. And more and more people realize this, it could finally break the ancestral trauma and result in collective healing.
4. Breaking Stigma
Being aware of your mental health issues and seeking therapy can break the stigma surrounding it. The more people speak out about it and become vocal about their needs, the more are they going to bring down the barriers surrounding mental health problems.
It is important to make more people aware that unless they feel confident enough to say how they feel, the will not get the treatment they deserve. This discrepancy leads to broken communication, resentment and bitterness and can shake the foundations of any community. Breaking the stigma is the only way.
5. Being Vulnerable
To be strong as a community, one first needs to be vulnerable. Nothing can be achieved by bringing up walls around ourselves. It is important to be vulnerable so that you can speak about your feelings.
To be part of a community, you need to know how to trust people and this cannot be done unless you also make yourself vulnerable. Being in sync with your mental health and staying attuned to your needs can help you set healthy boundaries, so that you can be vulnerable without hurting yourself.
6. Identifying Problems
Better mental health can help identify problems that could nip many problems in the bud. Unresolved trauma can lead to addiction, affinity to crimes, borderline personality disorder relationship, and even make someone suicidal if they continue to obsess about it. If this goes on, it can be a problem for the community.
This is why no matter which community you are a part of, you should focus on your mental health so that you can identify these issues as early as possible. Seeking the help of a therapist can help you navigate through your difficult emotions and face them, rather than keeping them pent up which may resurface in unhealthy ways.
Final Thoughts
It can be very difficult to understand what you need if you have never tried to connect with your emotions before. If you want to contribute to the well-being of your community, then as a building block, you first need to focus on yourself.
By doing so, you can also help others understand their thoughts better. Being emotionally aware can help you stay strong through difficult situations and be an asset to your community.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
