Young Mental Health: A Message to End Bullying

By Amrita Tripathi

It’s an incredible thing to meet young people — an event that can often spark hope and the strong belief that things will change for the better. Thanks to Dr Samir Parikh, Kamna Chhibber and the Fortis Mental Health team, I met a bright young group of Mental Health advocates last month.

ALSO READ: Psych-ED: Talking Positive Mental Health, One School at a Time

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The more I meet young people, the more hopeful that things will change #MentalHealthMatters
Thank you for the opportunity to mentor, @dr_samirparikh and @kamna_chhibber and team! https://t.co/4SLCg42yqO

— amrita tripathi (@amritat) June 2, 2019

 

We spoke about several things, and among one of the posts that I shared, which evoked a strong reaction was this incredible work by Solo.

The objective of the interactive exercise was to talk with these bright young sparks (not talk at!) and exchange thoughts and ideas, share experiences on what it’s been like reporting on Mental Health, running a site like this one and hearing so many incredible stories…

We spoke about empathy and kindess, and how we never know what people are going through. We spoke about having the vocabulary to address issues, about knowing our own boundaries and no-go areas, including how to cut off the toxic, and I daresay I learned as much as anyone that day. I got some really perceptive questions including about running a site like this one (and not burning out).

Based off a few suggestions, the young mental health advocates picked a topic they wanted to work on for the month, and long story short, here’s what Dr Parikh just shared with us. Isn’t that something?

 

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Posted @withrepost • @mind_versity What is bullying? Bullying is a repeated aggressive behavior where one person (or group of people) in a position of power deliberately intimidates, abuses, or coerces an individual with the intention to hurt that person physically or emotionally. Acts of bullying can be physical or verbal. . . Incidents of bullying must include all 3 of these characteristics: . . 1) Intentional- The behavior was aggressive and a deliberate attempt to hurt another person. . . 2) Repeated- These aggressive actions occur repeatedly over time to the same person or group of people. . . 3) Power imbalance- The person bullying has more physical or social power than the child or children being bullied. . . Source: http://preventingbullying.promoteprevent.org/what-bullying #mindspeakers2019 #saynotobullying #preventbullying #fortismentalhealthadvocates2019 @fortismentalhealth

A post shared by Fortis Mental Health (@fortismentalhealth) on Jul 14, 2019 at 7:02am PDT

 

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Posted @withrepost • @mmoonfishh Bullying and Mental Disorders Scientific studies have significantly proved that childhood bullying alters the physical structure of the brain and makes the individual more vulnerable to psychological disorders like anxiety. Interning at a hospital, I observed that the root cause of a lot of cases of schizophrenia, anxiety and depression was childhood bullying and the resultant isolation and loneliness. This becomes scarier considering the rampant cases of bullying all around, be it cyber or in a school setting. It’s time we realise the seriousness of something that most people dismiss with “ignore it, they’re just kids”. . . Picture credits: Soyoon Kim . . #stopbullying #nomorebullies #mindspeakers2019 #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #bullying #mentaldisorders

A post shared by Fortis Mental Health (@fortismentalhealth) on Jul 14, 2019 at 7:03am PDT

 

ALSO READ: YOUNG MENTAL HEALTH

Let us know if any of these help spark conversations, or if you want to share a story, an anecdote, a comment or some encouragement!

Stories matter, your stories matter… and as we like to emphasise, whatever you’re going through, know that you’re #NotAlone. (It’s more than a hashtag). One note I’d end on: don’t ever feel like you’re less than or not ‘extra’ enough… or that you have to be high-functioning to matter, or even that you have to share a story. That’s not what this community is about! (More on that coming soon, but while we have you, look around!)

More on where to reach out for professional help here

 

Feature Image: Artwork by Adwaita Das