awareness

The slight frostiness of 17°C seeped in through the glass, while the world blurred past, and the train unflinchingly galloped towards Oslo. A cup of lukewarm coffee sat next to my laptop, sending out inviting tendrils of steam, trying in vain to compete with the warmth of the day unfolding outside. The somber mood nestled within the carriage held no traces of the buoyant temperatures outside. We, like many others commuting to our daily lives, carried an invisible weight, the weight of the silent battles we fight.

Today, I am compelled to shed light on a topic – mental health, a subject that's often swept under the carpet, largely misunderstood, and always underestimated.

Opening up another tab on my laptop, unable to shake off the lingering melancholy, I just read a news article which reflected the inconvenient truth of today's society – the code of silence around mental health. It was as if an invisible HTML code had masked the real issue, driving the elephant in the room further into oblivion.

We view the world through the lens of our minds, steering us through life's challenges and joys. When our mental health suffers, so does our worldview, painting our experiences in muted shades of gray. A continuous struggle ensues, often quietly, behind closed doors or even amidst bustling crowds. And yet, like the HTML code unrecognizable by most, it remains an unspoken language, unresolved and often undetected.

Our mental well-being is just as crucial as our physical health or perhaps even more so. Each day as we toil away, striving for success and excellence, we must not leave behind the health of our minds, the fortress of our thoughts. We need to break free from the chains of societal expectations and stigmatization that shackle us into silence.

Each soul we cross paths with is waging an unseen battle, masked by brave faces and seemingly content lives. Instead of turning a deaf ear, we must strive to listen to the hushed whispers pleading for help. We must learn to appreciate and acknowledge the plethora of emotions that constitute our extraordinary human existence. Each conversation, each shared smile or tear, serves to bridge the gaping chasm of misunderstanding and isolation.

As I look around the train carriage, my fellow commuters immersed in their thoughts, I fight an urge to remind each one of them, and perhaps you, dear readers, as well - it's okay not to be okay. It's okay to take a breather, to seek help, to share your feelings. We need to normalize conversations about our mental health, replace judgement with empathy, scorn with understanding.

While, for many, the chilly 17°C outside might seem less than desirable, it is also a reminder that even in the coldest of times, the sun unveils itself, thawing the frost and painting a picture of optimism. As I journey towards Oslo, towards another day of unexpected narratives and histories, I am filled with a renewed sense of hope that pervades even the heaviest moments of loss. Amidst our shared stories of grief and resilience, may we find strength. For, awareness is the first step towards change, and that, is an empowering thought.

Tags: mental health awareness empathy