Mental health important

WE all live in difficult times, as readers of this newspaper know well.
Worries about the state of our safety, our finances, health and many others can take a physical and emotional toll.
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the world including Papua New Guinea.
While authorities rally their resources against the virus for a safer PNG, there are other factions who believe otherwise.
All the while, the vulnerable population in the less-educated or illiterates remain confused as they easily believe word of mouth or what they read on social media platforms.
These are the pressures we all face in our everyday life is stress.
We are not medical experts, but from reading, we know that stress could affect the function of the whole body.
Medical specialists have raised concerns that stress has become a common mental health problem among people seeking treatment at the clinic.
Many people are really not sick, but stressed out because of their individual problems.
The scary bit is these people don’t realise that they are stressed.
The best way to deal with depression (stress, anxiety) while at the same time handling challenges that life throws at us is probably to pay closer attention to what is happening inside our bodies.
There are three sources of stress, called stressors.
They are physical – illness, medications, pollution, environment; social – loss of a loved one, marital strife, financial problem, etc; and psychological – anxiety, inferiority complex, depression, etc.
No one alive is exempt from stress.
The only major difference is how one person deals with stress compared to another.
Some people are motivated by stress and perform their best under pressure.
Others buckle down and become useless when confronted with stress.
Stress is a normal component of life and all of us should know how to deal with it and manage it properly for a happier and healthier lifestyle.
If positively handled, stress could even make us stronger, more efficient and more effective.
The National’s regular columnist in the Health Watch section Dr Uma Ambi has always stressed the importance of allowing our mind to be free and not to get caught up in a situation that bears little importance to your life; keep life simple and do enjoy the simple things of life.
Health is an important requisite for all of us.
If we do not know how to handle stress that confronts us every day, then we will be out of control and stress will overtake and conquer us and our being.
If we allow stress to dominate our life and not fight it and deal with it properly, we will live a very unhappy and unhealthy life.
We come from a community that cares.
Our society is built on a structure that encourages one and other, when one member goes through a rough patch.
Believe in your strength.
Your caring approach towards one and another is nothing short of God’s gift.
The Health Department has a mental health services section.
This section should be actively functioning, especially during such times.
Physical and mental disorders go hand in hand.
People need to know to handle stress individually otherwise it will become a chronic issue for a society and the country.
Help should be made readily available otherwise these problems will remain undetected or untreated.