Celebrating health

Health for All
Hi guys!
Yesterday the world celebrated International Autism Awareness Day. And on Friday, we’re celebrating (besides Good Friday, of course!) World Health Day. And I’m quite captivated by the theme of the World Health Day 2023:- Health for All. This theme caters for all with special conditions and needs, special dietary requirements, poor, rich, learned or ignorant. And on a deeper level, health has ceased to be on the physical surface; it has gone on to penetrate even areas formerly unknown and not regarded seriously. And that, my friends, is where #MentalMondays come in. See, only recently has depression, anxiety and mental health related illnesses been taken into serious consideration. Only recently has public attention and awareness been raised to the grey side of health, the intangible, non-physical aspects of wellbeing.
But the ancients had it right – Mens sans in corpore sana – a healthy mind in a healthy body. Health is a holistic concept, and the sooner we accept that, the better for all concerned. A Health For All approach, therefore, must factor in a ‘wholeness to wellness’ approach. For the internal tends to manifest itself in the external, and the external deeply affects the internal. Thus, the way we accept the given diagnosis, accept the treatment we are undertake as well as live positively with our numerous diagnoses is all a result of a mental balance and positive perspective being achieved, which wholly, mental. Hence, no health without mental health.
Health for All therefore caters for all who need it. That means not just at a personal level, but also at institutional and decision-making level. We have clinics, hospitals, pharmacies. Generally speaking, they are widely available, although more could be done to make them available to the lowest levels of society. But more than that, we need to also think about mental wellness. How many psychiatric and counselling centers are there? Are our mental hospitals well funded and catered for? Are they patient-friendly? Is mental health help as accessible as a local clinic, at least in the most basic levels? In short, how ready is society, the government, institutions, to incorporate mental health issues as an integral part of Health for All?
On a personal note, let’s look after ourselves guys. Both in and out. We bath, we eat, we exercise, we nurture good habits and discard bad habits. Why don’t we try the same mentally? Cleanse, feed the mind, encourage a good mental lifestyle, get rid of negativity and all negative energy. See a therapist regularly as you would see a general practitioner but above all, be an ambassador for good health, physical, emotional, and mental. Because #MentalHealthMatters, too.❤️🧠