On October 2nd, a very close friend of mine passed away due to a heart attack. He was 33, has a 3 year old. If you ever spoke to him, you'd never know how much stress he was under. He'd always say "I can't show my weakness, my stress in front of my child & my wife".
That fateful morning, he woke up with a chest and back pain. As he lived in a small town, the local doctor advised him to be transferred to a bigger hospital which was 12 kms away. He didn't make it. He died in his father's arms. He never expressed his stress except for
When he discussed it with us. He just couldn't handle it. He used to say, "A lot of people have it worse than I do", only because that's what was told to him to make himself feel better. Do you know the worst part? I spoke to his father and he said -
"Son, I'm broken inside too. I have no reason to do anything anymore. But, I can't show my weakness in front of my family. I'm the man of the house". Those words seriously sent a shiver down my spine.
How many men have to die because they are not allowed to be vulnerable? This #MentalHealthAwarenessDay, please make a pledge to listen to people, encourage them to get help. Don't ask them to do Yoga, don't ask them to "just be happy", or "snap out of it".
"But you have it better than most people", this sentence does more damage than you realize. It tells the other person that their problems aren't really problems. Well guess what, my friend's problems were obviously big. It bloody killed him. Stop saying "You need to be strong"
This guy never smoked a cigarette in his life, had a drink may be once a month, used to go for a run everyday. So it wasn't because of health reasons. Next time you see someone isnt themselves, please tell them there is nothing wrong or shameful in getting help
We as a country need to do a lot more in the mental health area. Affordable & accesible mental health care, getting rid of the stigma would go a long way. Perhaps a child wouldn't be fatherless if people hadn't asked him to "man up" & had encouraged him to get help instead.
