The world around us is evolving each day and mental health is becoming prominent all over the world, but it is yet to be profoundly known in Africa, or maybe it just isn’t completely accepted as a real problem yet.
In Africa, mental health is sometimes seen as something we should not think about, not to mention speaking about it. From my perspective, mental health can be defined as the well being of our physical, emotional, and/or psychological state. I also see peer pressure as the direct influence or effect you have on people and more importantly, the influence others have on you. It plays a major role on our mental health which can either be positive and negative.
For as far back as I know, comparison has been the order of the day, especially in African homes. We were raised to look at our peers as yardsticks to measure growth and progress. For example, comparing a reserved child with an expressive child, because being reserved can be viewed as a sign of weakness.
This can sum up to affect the child’s mental state negatively. Although it is in human nature to compare ourselves with others, this comparison can have a negative or positive effect on us.
The positive side of comparison involves the stage of self-identification, self-formation, and ways to form your reasoning by reflecting on life’s general decisions. This can have a great advantage on our level of growth.
The negative side compels us as humans to compare ourselves with others which affects our self-esteem, self-image, and mental state. As humans, we tend to compare and compete amongst ourselves which could lead to stages of loneliness, depression, and the endgame that is suicide.
The pressure comes from everywhere, even from the little things, like the type of food we eat, how many certifications others have, mode of
dressing, career path, and so on.
Another aspect is the social comparison. It involves the act where we compare ourselves to what we see on social media, either via our feeds or by posts from our peers. Social comparison has a strong effect on our mental health because it magnifies the negative impact of comparison and invariably leads to envy, lust, and feelings of self pity.
As humans, we are mostly affected by what we see and hear from peers which likely affects our mental state and this effect can either improve it or cause further damage to it.
A quote from Theodore Roosevelt says “comparison is the thief of joy”. We should learn to appreciate and celebrate our small wins and accomplishments, and also, we should lean on our supportive family and friends because they have a great influence on your mental state.
Most importantly, we should be careful how we communicate with ourselves because our words can make or mar our mental health.
-Adebanke
In in the end, run your own race and if you need to step up your game, do so without comparing your life to other’s.
Nice one, I think I’ll be visiting this page more than ever.
Thank you for this!