“Don’t wish me at 00'00”
This is what I told my family, friends & close ones who I know will be the first ones to wish me on my birthday. Majority of them did understand where I was coming from but some did not. I wish they did.. but I do not blame them either.
“You are okay to do things you want to do ..health is just an excuse to not come with us”
“but you are okay to travel 12,000 kms for Bharat yatra but you aren’t okay to go out with us for dinner or a movie or shopping”
“You were okay to go to Goa, but you are sick to go with us”
“Sleep again after cake cutting at 12 am. What is the big deal?”
Yes, I am better.. better in terms of my mental and physical well being too.. I can get up early on most of the days without getting headaches for the rest of the day and without being worried to survive through the day. I was paranoid while signing up for Bharat Yatra which meant travelling over 120,000 kms over a month. “What will I do if I get headaches, how will I manage if I feel pukish while travelling. 15 min ride in a car makes me sick” but here I was supposed to be on road for most part of the day…
but I was prepared.. I was prepared because this was once in a lifetime opportunity and this was one chance to get on to the streets and be the voice of millions of children who are abused and exploited across the world. This was one chance to vent it out all and witness the history in the making. This was one chance to get up and break the silence and fight the battle harder than ever. So, I prayed, prayed hard for God to keep me well through out the journey.. double checked with my dr. if I could do this ..(not that I would have not done if his answer was ‘no’) packed two packets of medication for the entire month.. yes ‘entire month’ because no way was I going to leave it mid way & come back even though that option always existed. I am glad that it all went well.. and grateful to God for giving me the strength and the opportunity to be able to complete it successfully and do the little I could. And can’t thank you all enough for supporting my fund raising campaign during the yatra. No sooner did the Yatra end that Goa happened..for “Leadership In Mental Health’17” which was another big milestone for me.
Inspite of doing all of this, yes, it is still a big deal for me to stay awake for the midnight wishes! If not for my 4 P Equation I believe I would never be able to do the things I really want to.
my 4Ps : Passion( Pacing* Prioritizing*Planning)
I know, I am not a ‘plan’ everything person, I am more like we’ll ‘figure it out when we get there’ sorts but my health has taught me to plan out my days to some extent specially to fit in the activities that are a ‘priority’ for me irrespective of how bad it gets and to que the things which might be important but not urgent enough. I try pace it out so that I do not go overboard doing stuff which might lead me towards a painful end. I do not support the myth that people with depression tend to be less productive ! I live by proving this myth wrong at each and every minute of my day because I know if a “normal” person is unproductive or if a so called “normal” person under performs or is tired it’ll still be ok.. but if we do, our health would be blamed for. That is the sad truth,unfortunately. I can not change what everyone thinks. nobody can but the least we can do is to hold ourselves together and build on our strength. And this is possible with the 4 P’s! What goes on my priority list? ANYTHING which adds up to my mental and physical well being or something I am really passionate about (like my work) which ultimately gives me the boost and that ‘feel good’ factor makes to my priority list.
Yes, few years ago, I was ’12 am’ person, infact I used to get more excited for my friends b’days than they themselves and hold on to my phone to be the first one to wish and keep the count of the no. of midnight wishes on my b’day :) But it IS a big deal now.. because its out of my priority list. Staying awake till midnight and not getting enough sleep can lead to headache and exhaustion for the rest of the day which in turn is going to upset my day at work and the activities planned for the day. The last thing anyone would want is to end up in bed for the rest of their birthday.. Yes, I do appreciate the notion and these wishes mean a lot but we all do need to make the right choices .. choices towards a better self and healthier life. And I hope each of us makes an effort to be more understanding when it comes to mental health.
“Prioritize your Mental Health before its too late”
