Daily Times

Sir: Unless you’re an android with only a computer for a brain, or just a plain rock, then you’ve felt plenty of emotions throughout your lifetime. The emotions we feel on a constant basis are familiar and acceptable: happiness, sadness and even anger. There is nothing wrong with feeling these emotions in moderate amounts.

When someone begins to feel these emotions on a greater scale, such as depression or anxiety, society begins to shut those feelings out. The American culture is that of perfection, strength and determination. Mental illnesses are basically the opposite of those traits. When these emotions become exaggerated, society begins to become wary.

Depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety are all mental illnesses which are currently being brought to light in our generation. While the newfound acceptance of the people suffering from these illnesses is increasing, many still condemn the sufferers themselves. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I have heard misguided people blaming those afflicted for their own afflictions.

Often, the people who suffer from mental illnesses have no control over how they feel or why they feel the way that they do. It is an unfortunate disconnect between the affected and the unaffected people. I know that there are people who will say that mental illnesses are not real and are just exaggerated for attention. I will agree that some people do in fact do this. Personally, I have not met anyone who has faked a mental illness.

I will say though that mental illness varies from person to person and the effects can also be different for each person. When a person’s everyday life is affected by a mental illness, however, it is clear to me that they are someone who is in need of treatment and help. I do not question my friends who come to me and reveal that they have been suffering from depression. I have seen how this specific mental illness works, and have even experienced it myself. It is very real.

I don’t want to see any more of these people hidden away. Mental health and the illnesses that can arise from difficult experiences in peoples’ lives should not be swept under the rug as America has in the past. I want this generation to be the generation that stops the stigma about mental illness once and for all. In order to help those struggling, we need to be accepting and loving towards them. Even if you have a mental problem, you are human too.

ABDUL WAHAB AHMED

Karachi

Published in Daily Times, July 4^th 2018.