Should Mental Health Be a Fundamental Right?

Should Mental Health Be a Fundamental Right?

Mental Health is the psychological, emotional and social well-being of a person. The thoughts, the emotions, and how he feels and sees situations are defined as social health. The mind is responsible for us being who we are. How we function, make decisions, how perceive things, how we carry out our daily activities. 

Mental health has often been thought to be synonymous with mental diseases, but it is not so, it is a state of mind. Mental well-being is known as mental health.

There is so much stigma around mental health. Good mental health is known to improve the quality of life, increase productivity, help build better peer-to-peer relationships also improve the standard of living.

But there is a lot of debate on should mental health be a fundamental right.

Physical health is a fundamental right where everyone has the right to put focus on their physical well-being, get access to treatment and can’t be denied treatment. Then why should mental health not fall under the same? Physical health is visible, mental health is invisible and therefore, it needs to be prioritised. 

Mental Health should be a fundamental right because:-

• Mental health is an important pillar in relationships- Mental health is the thoughts in the head, it can get passive-aggressive, violent, and troubled. It affects how a mind perceives and looks at relationships, therefore, for any relationship building, good mental health is a priority. 

• Mental health affects physical health- Mental and physical health are intrinsically related. Any upset in the mind like stress, anxiety, depression, and fear affects the physical well-being. It compromises physical health. 

• Mental Health has a high correlation with crime. To prevent crime and criminal activities, one has to be of sound and rational mind. Any decline in mental health prevents a person from understanding the reactions to his actions and they tend to resort to violence and crime. 

• Mental health is connected to financial security and earning prowess. Any decline in mental health would render a person incapable of carrying out their activities properly, not concentrating on their business and affecting their financial well-being.

While there are many other factors, these are the 4 main pillars that display the need for mental health to be a fundamental right.