Mental Health Day
As our world progresses immensely in technology and material comforts, mental ailments among people are also rising like never before. According to the World Health Organization, more than 370 million individuals are suffering from mental disorders. Mental disorder is a behavioral or a mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. These abnormal patterns are generally classified into five main categories; depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, dementia, and developmental disorder like autism. Out of these categories, depression is a common mental illness. It is estimated that 280 million people in the world suffer from mild to severe depression.
It leads to the understanding that with all the medical advancements, the cases of mental disorders are increasing as well. In other words, something is missing in treatments and in the solutions available in million websites.
Every person desire to be happy and he tries his best to get happiness. When that happiness does not come in the form of desired person, place or a thing, then he gets delusional, and he is not able to control his thoughts. He feels very lonely amid ever increasing peer-pressure and loses his trust in himself and others. Consequently, he gets thrown into a downward spiral of hopelessness.
Often, it is believed that a person suffering from mental illness can never recover. However, it is a myth. There are many other myths attached to people with mental health needs. According to mentalheath.gov, it is believed that such people cannot tolerate the stress of holding down a job. It is also believed that these people are lazy and that there is no hope for them.
These widespread beliefs are not true. Studies show that people with mental health problems get better and many recover completely. The key lies in understanding the mind and tapping into the right resources.
Before starting to look for a right resource, it is important to know why people are drowned into the cesspool of their own miserable thoughts. Countless books, folklores, old sayings, psychiatrists have said that it is the mind which creates the miserable thoughts. The well-known English metaphysical poet John Milton has said, “The mind is a place of its own, and in itself can make heaven out of hell and hell out of heaven.” Even the Scriptures say that mind is a cause of happiness and distress.
So, the next question is how to control the brain? There are many treatments and techniques available which claim they can control the brain. Like focusing on the breath or shrinking mind to zero. But again, human mind is smarter than these techniques and starts downplaying them. So, before controlling this all-powerful brain, it is important to know more about its inner working and behavior.
One such book which sheds light on this topic is “The Science of Mind Management” by Swami Mukundananda. Swamiji is an IIT -IIMs alumnus and an international authority on mind management. He has scripted many books and courses on mental health and has been successful in helping millions of people worldwide. In this book, Swamiji says that mind is a thought generating machine and it is the thoughts which define the quality of life. An innocuous wrong thought, if dwelled upon for a long time, can lead to the downfall of a human life. It is important to know which thoughts your mind is entertaining. Once you get this awareness, try to replace wrong thought with an uplifting thought.
Swamiji discusses many interesting techniques like these in his wide variety of courses, books, and presentations he has designed. The other books where he discusses this topic are 7 Mindsets for Success, Happiness and Fulfilment and 7 Divine Laws to Awaken Your Best Self. In these books, he explains why success comes so easily to some but remain a struggle for others. He also reveals seven eternal principles which govern our lives and how by applying those principles we can put our lives to a right path.
Another powerful technique to control the mind is meditation. Meditation is not a short-term distraction from stressful situations. The purpose of meditation is to move towards your higher self. The techniques of such meaningful contemplations can be learnt from daily meditation sessions at JKYog online. There are meditation courses available on Udemy available at a very nominal price or free of cost. (https://www.udemy.com/course/meditation-techniques-for-purifying-your-mind/learn/lecture/24849770#overview).
Moreover, there is a powerful course on Udemy on dealing with stress. (https://www.udemy.com/course/stress-management-techniques/learn/lecture/27376482#overview).
There are many insightful lectures by Swami Mukundananda available on YouTube. In his courses and discourses, Swamiji presents the ancient knowledge of the Scriptures in a very scientific way. He weaves the Vedic wisdom into the latest stories of the modern-day world, which today’s audience can easily relate to. While giving these examples, he introduces the process of mind management step-by-step. As people attend session after session, they are able to understand these principles easily.
Swamiji is a founder of JKYog. JKYog is spiritual and charitable non-profit organization which works for physical, mental, spiritual wellness of people. JKYog offers variety of online courses and activities for adults and kids. The online classes for children known as Bal Mukund classes offer courses on character development, arts, and languages. These classes foster good value system in kids so that can cope up with stresses of life and are able to make wise decisions. Anyone can join online sessions of their choice to feel part of the community at https://www.jkyog.org/online_events
Apart from these resources which have benefitted millions, Swami Mukundananda conducts series of Life Transformation Programs in person across the United States and India. In these programs, he conducts yoga and meditation workshops, presents discourses on mind management and interact with the people. These programs provide a wholistic approach to nurture the body, mind, and soul.
