When was the last time you experienced something that was emotionally difficult? What did your family and friends say when you reached out to them? What kind of advice did they give you?
For all of my life, I've been told to cope with emotionally challenges by, forgetting about it, just being strong, and taking time to get over it: whatever it was. Failure? You'll learn from it. Rejection? It just wasn't meant to be. Countless times I've been pelted with the same kind of thinking, and I began to think. Maybe it was just all in my head, maybe I just think differently than others. I couldn't stop ruminating about every failure, disappointment that I was always thinking about something that bothered me. It drove me insane, and it truly shaped the way I think about everything today.
I felt alone, and dissociated from everyone socially and emotionally. Because I was surrounded by people, I did not realize that what I felt was the distorted world of loneliness. It seemed like the only way to get through these challenges was by getting through it alone.
On the other hand, every time I fell, got cut, or hurt myself physically, I knew exactly what to do. Just last week, I witnessed a child who was probably about 6 years old cut his knee after tripping on a small rock. Immediately after the accident, he started tearing up at the pain. But after he was done, he ran to his mother telling her that he needed a band aid for his cut. Even a 6 year old child knew the proper procedure for the smallest physical injury. How come no one knew the way to deal with the smallest psychological injury?
The knowledge, and the understanding of the consequences of leaving psychological and emotional injuries untreated is limited. While kindergartners are being taught how to properly deal with a cut or bodily wound, no attention is being paid to psychological and emotional wounds that can drastically affect our lives. While physical hygiene is common knowledge and taught to everyone, psychological hygiene is not being held to the same standards despite the drastic consequences it can have on our mental health.
It is time to take a stand to raise awareness for psychological hygiene and the dramatic effects it can have on our lives. And to raise the standards of psychological health closer to those of our physical health. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean that its effects are any less harmful.
