BHUBANESWAR:Emotional stability and self love play an important role in suicide prevention, opined mental health experts on Friday.Individuals need to be emotionally stable to control their emotions. Similarly, self love helps to keep away negativity from one’s life, said the experts during an interactive session at National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Jatni organised as part of The New Indian Express (TNIE)-Manam Foundation against suicides.
“To become emotionally stable, we need to know ourselves first. We should be able to differentiate between things that make us comfortable and that which disturbs us,” said chief therapeutic counsellor at Manam Foundation Somya Sucharita Mohapatra.“Working on ourselves consciously and developing positive qualities within us will bring good things into our lives and help us have control over our emotions,” she said.
Founder of Manam Anuradha Mohapatra said to be mentally stable, one needs to be expressive and assertive. Creating a support system is a must for every individual. “In a difficult situation, one should go to people who matter, not in the virtual world but in real life,” she said.
“According to a study, a person looks into his/her mobile phone 900 times a day. However, using gadgets or internet does not reduce our mental stress,” Mohapatra said. Advising students not to get addicted to gadgets, she said one should spend quality time with family, friends and relatives.Mohapatra also advised students to surround themselves with people who are empathetic and can help find a solution to their problems. Avoid people who are full of negativity, she said.
Stressing on the importance of physical fitness, the experts urged the audience to meditate regularly and take up at least one sport to remain mentally active.The experts also advised the students to spend more time on reading books.