Youth talk

Not so long back, speculations spread by tabloids about Demi Lovato’s dealings with addiction had forced the singer-songwriter to pause her break from social media and address them, confirming that she was on the road to recovery.   

If you remember, in July 2018, Demi Lovato was reported to have been admitted to hospital for an apparent overdose, just two months after releasing her single Sober which talks about how she failed to upkeep her six year-long sobriety.

Demi’s honesty about her struggles with mental health has served as solace for fans going through the same thing. She reiterates how vital conversation and awareness are when it comes to removing the stigma surrounding mental health. But is it really enough?

Opening up about mental health is starting to take place in the kingdom with people realising just how important it is to live a happy, fulfilled life and that like physical wellbeing, it shouldn’t be overlooked. The broken leg analogy has been kicked to the sidelines as an ineffective comparison, but the idea behind it prevails. While social media, especially when used in excess, is said to exacerbate anxiety and feelings of inadequacy, I believe that in recent years it has served as a platform for important conversations to be held, as well as for mental health services to be promoted.

There ought to be better availability of mental health services in educational institutions in the form of counseling if there isn’t already, seeing to it that students have to deal with the pressures of doing well academically at sometimes the most vulnerable periods of their growth. This is especially so in middle and high school, and such help may prove beneficial.

I cannot help but be completely for professional intervention, even for more trivial cases, as I realise just how crucial it can be for those looking for a better quality of life. Mental distress is on the rise amongst youngsters with suicide being the second leading cause of death among 14-25 year olds globally; the reasons for this are quite complex. Investing in mental health can only do good for the concerned authorities; one statistic shows that for every dollar spent on mental health care, there is a fourfold return.  Thankfully, several counties have already started to take steps in that direction.