World Mental Health Day 2021: Understanding The Importance Of Good Mental Health At Every Age

With the ongoing pandemic, people of all age groups have suffered tremendously both physically and even more mentally. After the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, every individual had to alter their day-to-day lifestyle to align themselves with the Covid-appropriate behavior. Due to which what happened was, every individual was affected and people had to face some serious issues. In reality, they had a huge impact on people who needed to be seen by a psychiatrist, phycologist or counsellor as it impacted the psychiatric development of a person.

World Mental Health Day: Common mental health issues as per age

1. In children

The most common issue they face is lack of attention span due to which the kids tend to be very impulsive and are often very restless, it is nothing related to their intelligence but this behavioral change makes it difficult for them to sit at one place and concentrate which becomes quite a pain in the classroom. There are kids with basic intelligence, who have normal intelligence levels whereas there are a whole bunch of kids with above-average intelligence and one will be surprised that both have their own struggles to better themselves from their peers.

2. In teenagers

Firstly, there is a lot of stress because of the student study system, the amount of competition which has led to excessive anxiety where kids are afraid to be average. This results in an enormous amount of stress as they are anxious to perform well, which even leads suicidal thoughts. Therefore, teenagers indulge in compulsive action in order to reduce the anxiety associated with the suicidal thoughts.

3. In adults

As you grow, sexual issues also contribute to mental health issues. So, visiting an expert for these issues should also be normalised.

4. In young adults

As you grow a little older, you end up becoming a young adult, when one might or might not want to get into a relationship which puts you into a permanent bond of marriage. There are many individuals who want to get married, but there are an equal amount of people who prefer not being married.

If one gets married, then there can be issues relating to relationships, sexually and otherwise, getting along with another person, and getting along with another family. Most people find it difficult to get along.

They are also looking back at a time and thinking that maybe they have not achieved as much as they wanted to achieve or there are some things which are beyond one's control because of that people land up in depression and get frustrated and aggressive.

5. Older adults

Elderly people often experience loneliness. It is crucial to support them with day to day activities. Spending time with children and grandchildren is an effective way to stay mentally fit. If you notice some symptoms of mental health issues in older adults, consult an expert.

Today, more than 20-25% of the population have a mental health disorder. So what are the steps that we can take, the most important thing is awareness, there has to be a lot of awareness that needs to be created. Every Individual needs to be aware of the fact that there might be a psychiatric issue. If a person is quiet, it does not mean he is very well behaved, he can actually be depressed. So provided we know the signs and symptoms of some of the psychiatric issues, and then it's a good idea if a person is assessed by a mental health professional or a psychiatrist, who will then decide the way forward.

(Dr Kersi Chavda is a Consultant Psychiatrist at P.D Hinduja Hospital & MRC)

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. NDTV is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this article. All information is provided on an as-is basis. The information, facts or opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.