Reflective Essay on Mental Health

Running head: REFLECTIVE ESSAY ON MENTAL HEALTH
REFLECTIVE ESSAY ON MENTAL HEALTH
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1REFLECTIVE ESSAY ON MENTAL HEALTH
Reporting:
My knowledge about mental health illness is mainly based on the literary reports.
According to Frances (2013; p.14) one in five Australians is a victim of the mental health
complications which hampers their overall health and wellbeing. I also came into an
understanding that increase in the level of stress in day-to-day leaving and the observance of
the unhealthy lifestyle is the main root cause behind the increase in the mental health
complication not only in Australia but throughout the world. Gibbons, Thorsteinsson and Loi
(2015, p.1004), highlighted that increase in stress increases anxiety elated disorders which in
turn leads to the development of depression. If this depression is not cured on time then the
individual becomes victim of the severe mental health complications. My own mental well-
being is based on by cultural and spiritual views. I was born and brought-up in a village in
India. In my birth place I have seen that how leading a simple life with friends and family
members and keeping aside agony towards others help to maintain a health mental health.
Gibbons, Thorsteinsson and Loi (2015, p.1004) stated that companionship coming from
family members and friends can help to decrease the chances of developing mental health
complications.
Responding:
In my birth place, a village in India, people with mental health illness are always look
down upon. They are socially excluded or stigmatised or are bullied for their abnormal
behaviour among the set of other people who assume themselves to be mentally fit. Though
there are mental health prevention program in the metropolitan cities of Indian, people
residing in village are less aware of the same also have less access to those rehabilitation
programs (Gulati, Das & Chavan, 2014, p.271). My fear or misconception about them never
encouraged me to communicate with them so I never got the chance to know more about this
disease. Moreover, people in India have an ignorant attitude towards mentally ill people and

2REFLECTIVE ESSAY ON MENTAL HEALTH
they consider them to be out of the main race of life. This kind of attitude also grew in my
mind since childhood. As a result of this, I never took initiative to think the underlying reason
behind their (mentally –ill people) unnatural behaviour. However, my enrolment in this
course in Australia changed my complete mind-set about the people with mental health
illness. I came into an understanding that the people with mental health complications have
equal right in leading a healthy and safe life among the other people in the community.
Proper counselling from the mental health nurse, taking proper mental health interventions
and support from the family members will help them to venture into healthy and normal
lifestyle.
Reasoning:
Apart from academic exposure, during my stay here in Australia, I watched and re-
watched a variety of movies based on mental health complication like, A Beautiful Mind,
which based on the eminent Nobel laureate John Nash. John a famous mathematician was a
patient of schizophrenia and he used to undergo series of delusions and hallucinations and the
same is replicated as unnatural behaviour. In association to this, my study helped me realize
each mental patient is different in their own way and should be handled accordingly. Every
individual with mental health must be given equal important along with provision for
autonomy, irrespective of the age, gender, race, ethnicity and class with proper respect
(Townsend & Morgan, 2017; p. 35).While my stay in Australia, my got an opportunity to get
a first-hand experience of watch an individual with mental health complications, my
landlord’s son. He was suffering from severe depression and was committing self-harm and
has attempted suicide. Interventions from the metal health professional and proper care
planning with the help of mental health assessment tool elucidated that my landlord’s son was
suffering from major depressive disorder. Person-centred care plan helped him to recover
gradually.