Genes or Gender? Your Questions on Mental Health Answered
India has never had a history of prioritising mental health and the Covid-19 pandemic, worsened by the lockdown, has revealed this ugly truth. Research conducted by the Suicide Prevention in India Foundation (SPIF) in May this year found that nearly 65% of 159 mental health professionals surveyed reported an increase in self-harm among their patients. More than 85% of therapists surveyed said they were experiencing caregiver fatigue, and over 75% said fatigue had impacted their work, CNN reported.
Another survey in April, by the Indian Psychiatric Society, showed that of 1,685 participants, 40% were suffering from common mental health disorders, such as anxiety and depression, due to the pandemic. India had the highest suicide rate in south-east Asia before the pandemic struck and now, medical experts say the country’s mental health system is being pushed to the limit.
What worsens the battle against mental health is the myths surrounding it and it is these myths that psychologist Astha Ahluwalia, in a conversation with OWN, seeks to dispel.
India had the highest suicide rate in south-east Asia before the pandemic struck.
“One of the most common myths or misconceptions that surrounds mental health is that it isn’t really an illness, it’s not real. The reason is that it is not physically visible. To those who believe this, I am going to say we all have a mind, that is, we all are mental. Our mind, which resides in our brain, is capable of mental functions such as thinking, feeling, understanding, decision making and problem-solving. Everything we do in our daily lives is done by our mind.
“The mind may not be physically present but its functions impact everything we do. Just as we have physical illness, which impacts different parts of our body, when our mind feels overwhelmed, burdened or stressed, it reacts in different ways as well. These reactions may not be as prominent as aches and pains or a runny nose or fever. However, these can be seen through the way we feel, the way we engage with people and the way we think. Negative thinking is the most common sign to say that our mind is not healthy. Now having said this, not all mental health concerns are illnesses,” she says.
Ahluwalia explains that mental health lies on a continuum. “One end of the continuum is healthy. A healthy mind is when there is regular functioning. Your mind is able to take decisions, do things as normally as anybody else. It doesn’t mean it doesn’t experience emotions or negative emotions but the mind is able to manage the stress that it experiences. Then there is a reacting state of mind, which is when our mind goes into a reactional phase. Due to essentially an external stimulus, our mind starts to feel uncomfortable and reacts by feeling anxious, low or angry. The other is injured when there is an impairment in our functioning. For example: I don’t feel like getting out of bed, I don’t feel like going and doing things that I otherwise enjoy. When you start to see the impact of your mind on your daily functioning, that is when you know your mind is injured.”
She adds, “The other end of the continuum is illness, which means there is a specific clinical issue or concern that impacts our thoughts, emotions, actions or behaviour. This is a mental health continuum and we can be anywhere on this. So, that’s one myth I wanted to bust. It is as important to be kind to our mind as it is to be kind to our body. Our mind is equally important as our bodies.”
What other myths does she encounter in her field? “The other myth that I am going to talk about is whether mental illness or mental health concerns are in our genes. If our parents have it, will we have it as well? Well, the answer is that it is difficult to say yes or no because yes, there is a strong relation between genetics that has been established over the years through research, but I want to highlight here that it is not definite. Just because our parents may have a certain mental health illness or a mental health concern, it does not mean that we will inherit it 100%.
“As human beings, we are a combination of our environment, genetics and our own experiences and perceptions. All of these things put together make us who we are. Even if we may have certain mental health concerns in our family, we can change and work on them. I also want to talk about this very interesting concept that emerged in the field of neuroscience, which is called neo-plasticism. Neo-plasticism basically says our brain where all mental health functions happen is like plastic, which means it can be moulded,” Ahluwalia says. This, thus, means human beings are capable of change.
As we talk about mental health, we come across a pertinent question: what about anti-depressants and medication and their efficacy?
“You need medication for a mental health concern to make sure you are capable of functioning in your daily lives. However, it is important that this medication is not self-prescribed and taken under the supervision of a psychiatrist. It is also important to note that these medications do not interact with any other substances and the quantity and duration is monitored,” Ahluwalia says. She adds that one must not be afraid of taking these medicines just like “we need antibiotics when we have a sore throat”.
Ahluwalia also finds a myth extremely peculiar and that is about the gendering of mental health. She is often asked if women are more prone to mental health issues and her answer is in the negative. “I want to tell you that our mind is not sexist or gender-biased. No mental health concerns are restricted to a specific age, gender or sex. All of us can experience or can have mental health concerns in our lives. However, mental health concerns are specific for certain age groups. For example: dementia is specific to an older generation, postpartum depression for women who have just delivered babies, dyslexia, which is a learning disability, is more prominent in children.”
The conversation then steers to the untimely demise of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and the debate on mental health it ignited. “After Rajput’s demise, we saw a lot of people come out and say ‘why don’t you come and talk to us, share with us how you are feeling’. The question that people ask is ‘wouldn’t talking make it worse or can it make it worse?’ Taking, sharing and verbalising how we are feeling is important because it reduces the impact of the situation on us. So, yes talking is important. However, what matters is who we are talking to, what kind of response we are getting from that person and what that response feels. These are communications, not a one-way street. So, the response that we get back from the other person will impact how we feel.”
Ahluwalia hence says one must not shy away from seeking professional help as “how you talk and with whom you do it makes all the difference”.
Original Women Network is a platform powering women with inspiration and information to achieve their ambitions. This interview is part of the Reboot series on mental health. You can watch the full interview here:
