Unlike physical or material problems that can be definitely and consistently solved, mental health or problems related to how we think and feel are rather fuzzy. Moreover, physical problems and their solutions are mostly universal. But copy-pasting a solution from someone else to overcome fear or despair rarely works the same way it did for others. Jeetujayson Raju a mental health advocate and entrepreneur talks about this mental conundrum that persists no matter what solution you try.
Why did you choose to be a mental health advocate?
At age 25 I was poisoned and taken to the emergency room. And when I came out as it sometimes happens to people they suffer from PTSD. For me, it was frequent panic attacks and chronic stress that devolved into clinical depression. Overcoming anxiety and the situational depression due to the circumstances was a conundrum. Nothing seems to solve the problem permanently, it seemed to persist no matter what.
How did you overcome your situation?
I didn’t. And that’s by choice. Fighting these mental clouds is like fighting a Chinese finger trap the more you pull on it to escape, the tighter it grips around your fingers. The solution is a counter-intuitive one. Don’t pull.
I chose not to solve it. Peace of mind is the by-product of not having to chase anything in life. And this restful state can either be achieved by reaching the solution that you are chasing or by simply giving up the chase altogether. Wisdom in this case is to recognize what is worth chasing and what is not. I chose not to chase the solution which in fact was the solution hiding in plain sight.
I was chasing a way out of panic attacks and despair that comes with it. It occurred to me one day after trying everything I could to solve this stubborn problem that maybe the problem isn’t my situation. Maybe the problem is that I am desperate to get rid of this situation that might be causing the misery in me. I asked my self, could it be that the fact that I am trying to solve this problem might be causing the problem to become exacerbated? So I decided, no more solving this problem anymore. I just simply decide to mind my own business one day and it worked.
When you break your leg, running a marathon cannot be a solution. Don’t do anything it will heal and so does a broken mind, just don’t fidget with it. Of course, go to a doctor get a plaster, take your meds and do the commonsense things. Just don’t fixate on mental issues it will exacerbate.
What is your message to people who are dealing with these conundrums?
I can’t help people to take this step. People have to be desperate enough to try this solution. And yes desperate is the word that I want to use here because otherwise I wouldn’t have tried it. I was taught to never give up. It requires a serious amount of desperation to try something so out of the ordinary. To even consider something like this you have to hit rock bottom. I would have rejected this solution if I had hope that I could solve it another way. I am a hard-headed Atheist I don’t usually go this route simply because it sounds too spiritual for me. But fortunately I did. So my message to people is don’t judge too soon there is more to things than what appears at first.
About JeetuJayson Raju
Jeetujayson Raju is the Founder and CEO of Impact PR and a mental health advocate. You can connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.