Healthy Take on Life !

September 10 th is an important day in the sphere of mental health. It is World suicide prevention day. As a mental health advocate this prompts me to go for a narrative on Life in line with the theme of this good day.  Although the theme is " change the narrative on suicide " i tweak it to a positive note to make it more relevant to many and have ended up with this narrative - Healthy take on life. 

Having graced mother earth for fifty odd years the bonds i have developed with people, place and time make me view Life in its whole expanse. The idea that it's my Life  and i alone am responsible for it or it's their life and they alone are responsible for it doesn't hold any longer for me. It has evolved up. The fact that many of our lives are interconnected and interdependent emerges quietly with a realisation and my surrender to the Universe. I cannot control everything and have quietly realised my limits of control over Life. I am careful to make sure that it doesn't make me shirk away from responsible living. I feel it would make me more responsible and think in terms of others welfare too as we chart our future actions for living.  

So having straightened out a thought in this cross road of Life, Living for a societal good and welfare takes center stage. I  have extracted some concepts on Social structure and institutions from Sociology for some understanding and to learn what it is that constitutes society . The basic social structure from a sociological perspective is visualised as a pyramid . It has economy as its broad base and the other social institutions as the superstructure.

Basic social structure

Concept of Social Institution

Basic Social institutions

 The interactions between the social institutions leads to the formation of a social system. Some of the functional requisites of a social system is that it has to be structured so that it can be compatible with other systems. It must have the requisites from other systems and it must have minimum control over disruptive behaviours. The different social institutions cannot function solely or independently and it can work optimally only in association with other institutions. So there is interdependence but at the same time with preservation of autonomy.

Social System

Equipped with the above basic ideas from sociology it is possible to understand more clearly the burden of having a thought as lofty as " Societal welfare ".  All of us are unique in our own ways. So associations ( socialisations) comes with its challenges.  As community physicians i was trained to assess , examine and study psychosocial aspects in cases. As the saying goes "Man is a social animal " our social needs are as important as air and food. It's one of our basic needs and is one of the key determinant of our health. This need becomes difficult to meet many times given the complexity and intricacies of the social systems that we create and have to manage.    

A Complex Social system

Adverse consequences of the complex social system is Psychosocial stress and Psychosocial illhealth. Relationship issues stemming out of socialisation exercises could be a major deterrent in Life and lead to dreadful health problems. 

Suicide is a mental health crisis situation which could result out of Life stressors. To prevent Suicide the 3 Rs are to be remembered. Recognising the suicidal ideation from verbal cues ( e,g statements like "i want to die") and behaviours (withdrawal, giving away possessions). Responding by engaging with empathy - Listening, acknowledging their pain and showing that you are there for them. Communicating directlycan be a step toward saving a life. Refer by connecting to resources such as a mental health professional or a crisis hotline.

  

If only there could be a constant spark with the good thought of a harmonious earth and for human welfare , if only there could be constant peace and calm in this world, it could save so many lives from being taken away.  Wishing everybody a good suicide prevention day when we need to pause and step back from the hustle bustle to envision a world with good thoughts and actions for a peaceful stress free life🙏