Mental health is equally important to physical health mainly because both are equally necessary
for a person’s well being. A person having one without the other is not someone I can truly
consider healthy. Being ill in one aspect is a huge detriment to a person living their life to the
fullest extent. To better explain my reasoning, let’s create a hypothetical scenario of two
brothers John, and Jack. John is the older brother and is a soldier. Throughout all his life, he’s
experienced no major physical illnesses and is at the peak of his physical fitness. Others might
even consider him blessed for not being prone to disease and is in great physical shape.
However, he suffers from PTSD due to his occupation. Due to this, every night before sleeping,
he relives the traumatic events he experienced and has trouble sleeping. Furthermore, he finds
it difficult to maintain close friendships, he feels detached, and he feels emotionally numb. In his
day to day life, he is constantly on edge and on guard, and any scent or noise that reminds him
of that trauma he experienced leaves him frightened. Considering all this, can we truly think that
John is able to live his life to the fullest? I’ll now move on to Jack, the younger brother. Jack was
never into taking care of his body. He didn’t move around much, and he ate whatever and
whenever he wanted. With the kind of lifestyle that Jack led, he quickly became morbidly obese
and developed coronary artery disease. With his massive weight, he could barely stand, let
alone walk. He isn’t able to experience a normal life, one should expect. He is essentially
bedridden. He eats, sleeps, plays videogames, then repeats it the next day. Considering all this,
can we truly think that Jack is able to live his life to the fullest? Neither of the two are healthy.
Both suffer from something, both aren’t living a good quality of life, both lack an important
aspect of their health. Both John and Jack aren’t totally and completely well because one aspect
of their health is not taken care of.
Regardless of one’s background, even the slightest bit of knowledge and awareness of mental
health could be of great help, whether it concerns one’s personal, professional, or social life.
One need not be studying psychology to benefit from knowing about mental health, it’s
beneficial to all persons in many ways. On a personal level, people would be more likely to take
care of their mental health and be more comfortable reaching out to people when they need
help. Even the faintest idea of mental health would make anyone realize that it is also an
important aspect of a person’s well being. On a professional level, people would likely learn to
manage their stress better. Any productive worker knows that being stressed all the time would
just yield subpar results. By knowing about mental health, people would be more likely to see
the toll their work has on them, and avoid burnout. On a social level, people would know how to
properly respond whenever a friend is experiencing dark times. People would be more willing to
support and give aid to said person, but also recognize their limits and know when to
recommend professional help. Any amount of knowledge and awareness of mental health helps
a lot, since it’s such an integral part of our life and will often tell a pretty good picture of how we'll
function when faced with adversity.