Restoring the Beauty of Chitral Through Mental Wellness
By: Aeman Akhtar
“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” is a famous proverb that encourages optimistic behavior in the face of adversity. But the people of Chitral have been the complete opposite. According to a BBC Urdu report published four years ago, 106 women in Chitral died by suicide, which makes it an average of 10.6 deaths per year, excluding male suicide rates. And still, the trend keeps persisting over the years. Suicide is a morally discouraged act, regardless of gender or the reason.
One lingering question that bothers me to this day is: Whose fault is it? The person who ended their life, the people around them, or the government itself?! I would blame the institutions, just as my ancestors did, but at the same time, as stated in the Quran, “Verily! Allah will not change the condition of a people as long as they do not change their state themselves” (Al-Quran 13:11). Change starts with an individual.
We should be aware of our own mental wellness first and then focus on the people living in our surroundings. We need to overcome pessimistic behavior. We should raise awareness among our elders as well, who are often ignorant about mental disorders, just as Trump has been criticized for his stance on racial equality. We must try to change their mentality about how they used to think and act as if everything was fine back in the days when the world wasn’t a global village. Nowadays, people can easily be blackmailed through social media or even influenced or brainwashed by dark websites. Our elders aren’t familiar with how a person’s curiosity can turn their life completely upside down with this technological era.
They may not realize how comparing their own child with another child on the basis of academics can demotivate them or even make them feel worthless. They might have experienced times when they used to lift heavy weights on their own, but having tons of conflicting thoughts in one’s mind can sometimes be unbearable. We need to organize campaigns about mental well-being instead of wasting money on events that are irrelevant to saving lives. Individuals are the building blocks of society, but if they start dying by suicide, then such entertainment events would become useless, with fewer audience members. We need to encourage students in fields related to maintaining and improving mental well-being. If this becomes a trend, then eventually, the scope of such fields would increase, potentially reducing suicide rates.
Chitral is truly a GOD-gifted area with enormous mountains, but the people make it a suffocating place for themselves. With mental health awareness by their side, their blurry vision caused by their thoughts can be cleared, and so can their view of the hidden beauty of Chitral’s natural landscapes.
