CW: This article discusses topics of mental health, suicide, and self-harm which could be distressing to some readers.
Mental health issues in modern society show no sign of slowing down and being irradicated. There is a growing consensus in society that mental health will never be completely wiped across society any time soon but what we can do as a community is be open to people expressing their emotions and help them be able to confront their issues and try to help them be able to cope with the issues they face.
The highest rate of suicide rates that derive from mental health issues is for the majority recorded as young men as stated by HUMEN in their article on what they are doing to battle against men's mental health issues. They also stated a staggering fact that 75% of suicide recordings in the UK are men. One of the key issues faced as a man is not being able to open up and talk about your feelings and thoughts as you want to be seen as a lad, but in reality, this is the counter-productivity, that leads down the road to suicide. In a way, battle, this HUMEN has opened up the HUMEN space where men can connect and discuss their issues openly to be able to gain help and support and take the weight off their shoulders by opening up, which will help them clear their heads and improve their health.
The thing is with social media causing a globally connected world, the chances of online bullying and negative self-imagery are becoming more and more common, especially among the younger generation who use social media for many hours a day for the majority of their lives. 1907 Foundation has done an article on the effects of technology on mental health and has shown from different studies that 45% of British adults feel restless when they do not have access to social media. The article then describes a symptom called phantom vibration syndrome(PVS) where people believe their phone vibrates when it doesn't and causes them to check their social media constantly and leads to anxiety caused by cell phones. These cases, also show these people have a higher risk for anxiety disorders. Later in the article, more research that is linked in the article by 1907 foundation that there is a positive correlation between the time spent on Facebook by adolescents and depression.
In modern society, we need to consider why mental health is still such a big issue to this day and what can we do to help reduce this by reflecting on ourselves and looking at our past and present actions that are taken towards people, and truly reflect upon how we can improve our treatment of others and what can be done for us to improve when communicating with society more positively. Along with self-improvement, we should also be aware of other people and be able to call people out when they are acting inappropriately and are being very negative towards someone, for example on social media if someone was being bullied and harassed for something out of their control or by an innocent post, then the best thing to do in that scenario would be to report the negative comments and privately offer support to the person being bullied. From knowing people who have been bullied online by people I know the effects can cause serious self-doubt and anxiety to a person and this is one of many reasons why it must be stopped as this has detrimental effects on people`s mindsets and can push people on the receiving end to suicidal thoughts and self-harm.
This is a serious matter we face and the more we can do to lead the way to a better place for people to open up and express their emotions the more other people will start to follow suit and make the world a more open and kinder place for people who face mental health issues.