Wholesome Approach To Wellness

“We are still one of the few countries which does not have a national suicide prevention policy", Dr Samir Parikh

Good health is an all-encompassing domain. The mindset of it being associated with only body size or appearance is very myopic, a thought process we are realising now. Wellbeing is not just physical, it is also mental, social, and spiritual, which are as important if not more than the physical aspect. This can be seen from the fact that depression affects five percent of the world's population, and one person commits suicide every 40 seconds. Given these staggering numbers, it is high time we associate wellness with care beyond just the physical. 

Commenting on this issue Dr Samir Parikh speaks at BW Businessworld's Wellbeing Conference, “We are still one of the few countries which does not have a national suicide prevention policy.” Most mental illnesses manifest between 15 to 19 years of age, making adolescent mental health supremely important. He further adds, “Solution to mental health is not expertisation.” The way to address issue is by starting with mental health basics at a school level. The importance of relationships and me-time is the need of the hour. Additionally, mental health must be a criterion to judge how well an organisation or a corporation is doing, beyond just raking in the numbers. 

Mental health is not just something an expert needs to deal with, they should be the last step on the ladder. It must start with talking to the peer group, family, friends, and office colleagues. For this to happen effectively, the taboo around mental health needs to be tackled, for which conversations need to happen around it. This is the first step to facilitating help seeking behaviour. “The odds of someone needing psychological first aid in your life almost regularly is going to outnumber people needing physical first,” adds Parikh. After all the social steps are taken, it is then that the role of the family physician comes in.  

Further elaborating on how we can focus on mental health in our daily lives, he says, “Spend time with your family, take out me time, take a break, switch off your phone, help somebody, etc are all aspects we can work on while looking to better our mental health.” This is something Covid has taught us as well, those who had positive as against those who did not have positive outcome during Covid only had one difference, that is, their support system. Individuals, families, social networks have a resounding impact on our mental health. “You and I have equal stakeholder ship in mental health. We need to pool in and become advocates of mental health” Dr Parikh reiterates his point.  

Giving some practical advice on psychological first aid, he says the first step is not to undermine someone’s feelings. The reverse would be you help the other person talk about it, you give them compassion, and then read or talk about it with them. Then maybe suggest an expert advice. It is like physical first aid where one would start off by providing all the support possible. Explaining by example, Parikh says, “If a friend tells you and says I had an argument with my boss and want to quit my job. You may intervene and talk to them and help them take a decision, your friend may not quit their job, may become a better worker, improve relationships because you provided psychological first aid.” Communication is thus the backbone of mental health. 

It is also noteworthy that today we are spending increasing amounts of time on our phones. This is especially true for the school and college going generation who are compelled to attend classes in a digital medium. While digital inclusion in education is an issue, it’s repercussions cannot be ignored. To overcome these issues Dr Parikh shares his insights, “Implementable aspects must be looked into, one, mental health curriculum. We had written one four years back where you train teachers under five basic modules: understanding mental health, what is mental health, what is the increased resilience, how to use right language and create a culture of wellbeing in the classroom.” He also reiterated the importance of digital literacy; you don’t get swayed but always question. This becomes necessary because media interface sometimes has a self-impact in young people, whether it is body image or self-esteem. With that also comes the aspect of cyber bullying. All these are aspects which need to be worked on in a structured manner across schools. The initiative has to come from all stakeholders where schools and parents need to work in tandem.  “While marks play a role in career, the non- marks factor plays an even bigger role.” Concludes Dr Parikh. 

Lastly, food and sleep play a crucial role in not just physical wellbeing but has an impact on us psychologically as well. “I believe a healthy diet is important but the fact that you have to enjoy is also important. If you don’t sleep well, you won’t function well, it goes without saying. Adequate sleep leads to less irritability, physical fatigue, immune deficiencies, and better human relations and productivity at work.” Thus wellbeing is mind over matter and both have to work in unision.