Second Sight

“Dead people receive more flowers than the living ones because regret is stronger than gratitude.” – Anne Frank

We can feel the truth hidden in these beautiful words more than anything else. In the current circumstances we all have seen our phones filled with some words like mental health, and depression. However, these words seem more common than any time before, we suddenly have grabbed attention for these words within past few days. Now that we are posting messages like “talk to me” or “I’m here for you”, let’s first talk about these eye catching words being posted on our social media stories.

Let us confess that these trending words are not being used for the first time. They were used before, the difference is just that we have become more assiduous reader. We actually used words like depression as a synonym to stress. Whereas, depression coincides stress, there is a difference of really thin line between the two. At this time, we are just using the words without actually realizing what it is.

The things I’m going to say now, can be objectionable for some people and I already apologize for that, but it is important to do so.

Some people are just using current news of the suicide just as content when it’s high time we actually understand the importance of information about mental health and help each other out. I’m talking about “some” people, not everyone, but those who fail to understand the seriousness of the situation.

First of all, this has nothing to do with age or gender. According to WHO, Globally, more than 264 million people of all ages suffer from depression. Close to 800 000 people die due to suicide every year. Suicide is the second leading cause of death in 15-29-year-olds.

Now, when a person is at that stage, let me tell you they don’t feel like talking to anyone, not even a single person. The voice as soft as dropping of a nail can also feel irritating and painful for ears, they face continuous feverishness and anxiety even if they seem to be okay. Actions speak more than words, so instead of posting a story saying “talk to me anytime”, let people feel your presence in their life, be available for them.

Just rewind your memory and remember how many times your friend reached out to you to share their feelings or opinions and you gave replies like “even I’m depressed buddy, there’s so much work to do” “Oh dude! Stop being a cry baby, you’re crying every time” “stop complaining about everything” “I’ll get back to you in a while” (and that WHILE takes an eternity to get back). Noticed something familiar? Our problem is that we stereotype everything. Why do we have to associate depression with terms like mentally unstable/ill, weak, or mad? A person will all facilities of the world can also be depressed and you won’t even notice that. Even meditation is stereotyped as old school. According to Harvard, regular practice of meditation can help your brain better manage stress and anxiety that can trigger depression. And it’s good for functioning of our brain cells too.

Also, please stop bitching and gossiping about people on their back. You never know what he/she is already facing. Every person has a galaxy of thoughts, emotions, impressions, and memories deep inside them. I know gossiping is a human nature, we all do that at some time, but it can have limits. Spreading rumors upon your assumptions, thinking the person is too moron to understand what’s happening. You are fooling yourself, you don’t know what your words can do to the person.

Acceptance and forgiveness are two pillars to drive focus on. What if we accept everyone as a family? We usually accept and forgive in family right? So why we cannot accept the whole world as our family? I’m not saying that if someone is harassing you, forgive them, no, take appropriate actions for that situation. I know saying is easy but trying is far better than just posting something while sitting at home and not picking up a friend’s call the other day because you were feeling too lazy to do so.

We are in mid of a war, a war with ourselves, a war with the pandemic. Just wake up for once and look around! There are approximately 8,135,164 confirmed cases and 443,321 deaths due to COVID 19, globally. People are walking to their homes on foot, they are sleeping on the footpath empty stomach. There are cyclones, forest fires, earth quakes, and all we are doing is getting selfish. When there’s a fire in neighborhood we ignore saying “it’s their business” until the fire reaches our home. Why to give even a single chance for fire to spread out when we can provide a humble helping hand.

“The only way out of the labyrinth of suffering is to forgive.”
― John Green, Looking for Alaska

Anyone out there who’s suicidal, you actually want to end a part/phase of life, not your life. Just give it a thought. There isn’t a manual telling that all the suffering would end after death. I’m not saying that people facing hard times should be left with themselves, take your time to heal, but to ask for help is no less bravery. Talk your heart out to the person you trust, spill your heart out. No one has time to judge you, if they do, they’ll forget about it the very next day. Do whatever makes you happy, sports, art, meditation, reading, writing, or anything creative.

To be a good speaker, and to be a good listener, are both important. It’s never too late for anything, let’s walk together hand in hand, help each other out, and try to understand each other. At the end I know every person is different, we don’t know what is going on with them or what they are feeling but we can at least do some things which are in our hands.

Once again I apologize if I said something wrong or hurt your sentiments.