Why Is Mental Health Not Our Priority?

Summary

• Spirituality, family support, and personal resilience can provide comfort to many people; however, they should not be used to shame anyone or replace appropriate professional treatment when it is needed.
• Family counselling, conflict-resolution skills, and accessible support services can help people rebuild relationships where it is safe and appropriate to do so.
• Religious leaders, writers, journalists, artists, and public figures can also contribute by discussing mental health responsibly and encouraging people to seek qualified help.

AI Generated Summary

In a world that proudly celebrates scientific discoveries, technological advancement, economic development, and material prosperity, a painful question continues to haunt our collective conscience: why is mental health not our priority? We have built magnificent buildings, connected distant continents through digital networks, explored the mysteries of outer space, and developed artificial intelligence capable of performing tasks that once seemed impossible. Nevertheless, millions of people continue to struggle silently with anxiety, depression, loneliness, emotional exhaustion, and hopelessness. We have learned to measure the height of buildings, the speed of machines, and the wealth of nations, but we have failed to measure the depth of human suffering. Indeed, we have become increasingly successful at improving the machinery of life while neglecting the human beings who operate it.

Mental health is not a luxury reserved for the wealthy, nor is it a weakness that should be concealed behind artificial smiles. Rather, it is an essential foundation of human dignity, personal happiness, social stability, and national progress. A person may possess money, education, professional status, and social recognition yet remain emotionally broken within. Similarly, someone who appears cheerful in public may be fighting an invisible battle against despair. Unfortunately, our societies often recognise physical wounds because they can be seen, while emotional wounds are dismissed because they remain hidden. We rush to treat a fractured bone, yet we may ignore a fractured spirit. We sympathise with someone suffering from a physical illness, but when a person expresses psychological distress, we frequently advise them to stop overthinking, become stronger, or simply change their attitude. Such responses reveal our lack of understanding and our unwillingness to acknowledge the complexity of human suffering.

First and foremost, one of the most disturbing developments of our time is the growing concern about suicide and suicidal behaviour. Every life lost to suicide represents not merely an individual tragedy but also a profound human loss for families, communities, and society. Although suicide has multiple causes and cannot be explained by a single factor, untreated mental health conditions, overwhelming stress, social isolation, financial difficulties, traumatic experiences, and the absence of adequate support can contribute to the risk. Behind some tragedies lie years of unspoken pain, rejected pleas for help, and battles that nobody noticed. We often ask why a person took such a devastating step after the tragedy has occurred, but we rarely ask whether we created an environment in which that person felt safe enough to speak before reaching a crisis. Prevention begins long before an emergency; it begins when families listen without judgment, schools recognise emotional distress, workplaces respect human limits, and governments make psychological care accessible.

Moreover, the culture of silence surrounding mental illness makes the situation even more alarming. In many communities, including Pakistan, people experiencing depression, anxiety, or other psychological difficulties may hesitate to seek professional help because they fear being labelled weak, unstable, or incapable. Some families conceal mental health problems because they believe that disclosure will damage their social reputation or their children’s marriage prospects. Consequently, suffering becomes a private burden rather than a public concern. A person who needs a psychologist may instead receive criticism, religious or moral accusations, or simplistic advice that fails to address the underlying problem. Spirituality, family support, and personal resilience can provide comfort to many people; however, they should not be used to shame anyone or replace appropriate professional treatment when it is needed. We must understand that seeking psychological assistance is an act of courage, not an admission of defeat.

Furthermore, loneliness has become one of the defining paradoxes of modern civilisation. We live in an age when a message can travel across the globe in seconds, yet a person sitting in a crowded room may feel completely forgotten. Digital connectivity has increased, but meaningful human connection has not necessarily grown at the same pace. Many people have hundreds of online contacts but nobody they can approach when their hearts become unbearably heavy. Friends communicate through screens, family members sit together while looking at separate devices, and conversations that once carried warmth are interrupted by endless notifications. Gradually, genuine companionship is replaced by superficial interaction, and emotional intimacy becomes a casualty of convenience.

In addition, alienation has become increasingly visible among young people, university students, working adults, and even elderly citizens. Young people may feel disconnected from their families because of generational differences, unrealistic expectations, or an inability to discuss their fears openly. University students may experience academic pressure, uncertainty about their future, and the painful feeling that everyone else is succeeding while they are falling behind. Working adults may spend years fulfilling professional responsibilities while neglecting their emotional needs. Meanwhile, elderly people may suffer from isolation when their children migrate for employment or become too occupied with their own lives to offer regular companionship. Thus, loneliness is not restricted to a particular age group or social class; it can enter any home where communication, affection, and mutual understanding have disappeared.

Equally important, economic hardship has become a powerful source of psychological distress. Inflation, rising prices, unemployment, insecure employment, and the increasing cost of education, healthcare, housing, and essential commodities have transformed ordinary survival into a daily struggle for countless families. When the price of flour, electricity, petrol, medicine, and school fees continues to rise while income remains stagnant, anxiety becomes an unwelcome companion. A father may lie awake at night wondering how he will provide food for his children. A mother may silently sacrifice her own needs to ensure that the household survives. A young graduate may send applications to dozens of institutions and receive nothing but rejection or silence. Under such circumstances, telling people to remain positive without addressing their material difficulties is both inadequate and insensitive.

Poverty does not automatically produce mental illness, and wealth does not guarantee happiness. Nevertheless, prolonged financial insecurity can intensify stress, damage relationships, undermine self-esteem, and reduce access to treatment. Unemployment, in particular, can deprive individuals not only of income but also of purpose, independence, and social recognition. In societies where professional achievement is closely associated with personal worth, an unemployed person may begin to feel useless despite possessing valuable abilities. Parents may compare their children with relatives who have secured prestigious positions, while young people may internalise the belief that their lives have become failures because they cannot meet society’s expectations. We must therefore recognise that economic policy is also connected to human well-being. Employment opportunities, fair wages, affordable housing, accessible healthcare, and social protection are not merely economic instruments; they can also reduce some of the pressures that threaten psychological stability.