Mental Health, the last taboo
My former boss committed suicide. So did my mother’s boss. What a loss. Mental illness can be fatal yet we never want to talk about it. Cancer we can talk about and broken arms and viruses and such, but the great mystery of the mind remains a subject that we keep quiet about because it is a mystery.
I had a depression for 10 years, undiagnosed and untreated. It wasn’t until I was involved in a major disaster, when it was suggested that the volunteers seek counselling, did I even think about going to a ’shrink’. My first try was a disaster. Then I talked to a friend who told me he had been to group therapy and he encouraged me to try again.
It was worth it. I had been suffering for years from PTSD caused by an injury I suffered when I was young. I ended up going to a therapist for 3 years and it helped ‘cure’ me of many of my mental problems. As my therapist told me, it requires continual ‘work’ to keep mentally healthy. Just like physical health involves eating, exercise and the help of others… so does mental health.
Unfortunately we live in a society that views mental illness as a ‘taboo’ that shouldn’t be talked about, as if it can be transmitted by talk. We turn a blind eye towards those who act differently, who can’t cope, who suffer in silence. The COVID pandemic may change that because it is causing so much mental anguish and so many people are under mental stress. I hope it does.
For many years after my therapy, I continued my exploration of the brain and of mental illness. This led me to join a class for adults on mental illness taught by two psychiatrists. My horizons were widened. I continue to read and study mental health issues. Sometimes I try to help others. I am not a therapist but someone who listens. Someone who has been there.
My goal is to achieve Euthymia as defined as normal.
More from the internet:
“Democritus stated that euthymia means that a person is satisfied with whatever is available and is present, paying less heed to those who envy, and admire others who are suffering yet enduring. He said that it is a state in which satisfaction is experienced with balanced emotions and defeated fears.
The Greek definition of euthymia was also translated by a Latin philosopher named Seneca with tranquillitas animii, which means a state of internal calm and contentment. He also stated that happiness is not everything and that a person should also be aware of his or her well-being (felicitatis intellectus).
• Feeling calm
• Happy
• Contented
• Moderately enthusiastic
• Congruent
It is possible to promote optimal human functioning if one can positively evaluate the following:
• Oneself
• Belief that life is meaningful and purposeful
• Continued development and growth
• Capacity to effectively manage life
• Self-determination
• Psychological flexibility
