2017 was the year of many changes. Some of them were good which lead to many major developments like the Supreme Courts judgment on Right to Privacy, but there (are things that would still need to change at the society level that can bring a major difference in the life of many people. One such thing is the how people see mental illness. Change in the mentality of the society to be more sensitive towards people suffering from mental illness can make a lot of difference in their life. Mental illness is not just brain degeneration, conditions like anxiety and depression are the major type of mental illness that people suffer from and a little compassion towards them won’t hurt you but it will surely make a difference in there lives.

We live in the 21st century and share everything with everyone. For instance whenever we are going to a movie or are ‘feeling unwell’ we never forget to put a status on Facebook. At the time of trouble or dilemma, we contact our family and friends for help but when it comes to mental illness why does everyone become quiet? Why can’t we ask for help at that time? When we discuss everything from politics to sports to entertainment then why can’t we talk about anxiety or depression? Why can’t a person suffering from anxiety or depression talk about it to his/her family or friends? This is because it is still a taboo and in our society mental illness is always associated with a person being mental asylums and psychiatrist. Whenever someone tries to talk about it we tell them to ‘relax’ or ‘chill’ or shun them by saying ‘you are just overthinking’ or ‘itnibadibaatnahihai’. We say all sorts of thing but one thing we refuse to do is understand. We refuse to understand what they are going through, or what is their problem, or what lead to change in their behavior. We refuse to understand that they are not feeling low to get ‘attention’. They are actually ill. The problem is that we don’t treat depression and anxiety as seriously as we treat fever, dengue, malaria, cancer or even a headache. If we start a giving a little attention to them, ask them what is wrong and listen to them and try to understand them we might end up helping them. It’s high time that we treat mental illness the way you treat any other disease.