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Stress exhibits differently in different people. While some hide their feelings, other turn to alcohol and drugs. Some withdraw from the world whereas some are angry all the time, lashing out at close ones. The common factor with all these people is that they are under stress and are not able to manage it.

Managing stress can be done the following ways:

• Talk it out: Find a mental health professional and start talking about your day to day life. Talking it out helps reduce the mental worry one carries with them. Talking to a professional helps you understand your mechanisms and how to deal better with them.
• Exercise: Be it the gym or just a run, doing a cardio activity leads to better stress levels
• Meditation
• Breathing exercises
• Choose an activity of your liking
• Write a journal

As these illnesses are biologically based brain disorders, a regimen of medication and therapy is needed. There is a misconception that mental illnesses such as depression, OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) can be “snapped out of” or “overcome by willpower”, which is false and breeds a hostile atmosphere.

Treatment incudes 3 main facets: medication, therapy & support. There are several types of medication being produced to combat mental-illness, the aim of which is to reduce social symptoms and help bring about daily functioning.

Therapy with a clinically trained psychologist helps understand your disease better and equips you with the tools you need to deal with the disease.

Support of family, friends & community helps the patient feel less isolated & gives them a platform for open communication. Feeling like a part of a community helps the patient ground themselves

Mental illness is a group of biological brain disorders that affect a person’s thinking, mood, emotions, sense of reality, ability to relate and daily functioning. Common disorders are anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder etc. People of all ages are susceptible but adolescents & young adults are especially vulnerable.