Dr. Baljit Singh
The discipline of psychosomatics suggests that mental conditions can lead to physical illness. For example, fear of someone or something may lead to an adverse mental condition (anxiety), which can lead to sleep deprivation, increased blood pressure, red eyes, drowsiness, etc.
People respond in a variety of ways
Cessation of activities
A person may stop doing good deeds because conditions do not suit them, in order to avoid serious adverse consequences. For example, during a riot, a person may restrict their outdoor activities until law-and-order returns to normal. Any stress, even just for a moment, can lead to bloating, increased blood pressure, insomnia, and more
Recollecting the experience
The man stopped going to the gym when another gym-goer started asking the man for money. In another instance, the movie star humiliated his co-star. Many had a fear of him and thus accepted his friendship to avoid humiliation, others began to speak out to change his behaviour.
Relocation
Especially in developing countries with poor governance, political unrest persists and people begin to live in fear of unrest. It restricts their activity and result in prejudices and frictions. Many people travel abroad to forget about the turmoil they encounter in their own country, as it helps them shift their focus from inappropriate situations to better living conditions in the foreign world. Rather than forgetting it entirely, they try not to remember it by engaging in productive work. They can sleep better; they have no anxiety and can study, work and live stably.
Cultural differences
In some countries, people want to live separately from other cultural groups to avoid conflicts based on race, religion, tribe, or gender. Fighting between the Meitei and Koki tribes in the Indian state of Manipur continues unabated. Just as India gained freedom from British rule, the Koki tribe also wanted freedom from the Meitei rule. Pakistan got freedom from India and Bangladesh got freedom from Pakistan. Of course, they enjoy all freedoms and can have social, economic, political, demographic and environmental independence. Even in the same faith, people have their own temples and churches because of the different ways of worshipping God – Catholic vs. Protestant, for example.
Just managing
For example, survivors of riots, genocides, and wars find a way to life by surrendering and enduring humiliation, and by thinking that nothing happened. People also change their route home to avoid being laughed at. The TV presenter began missing social lunches and dinners in order to avoid the consequences of the threat by managing life at home, either individually or with his family.
The use of bad substances
People may also turn to alcohol or drugs to forget things, but ingesting these bad substances can in turn lead to more mental and physical illness.
Ongoing social incidents of physical and mental illness
First-year students are often harassed by their seniors, but this can lead to physical and mental trauma and illness. But when the first-year students entered the second-year, they too started bullying the first-year students. It means that some of us take the position of others, which calls for better governance where possible.
Social support
The support of the elderly, teachers, neighbours, and professionals also in the field of health may help people live a better life by creating better living conditions. Building confidence by enforcing laws and educating people about trauma can help people experience life better.
In short, if every country embraced multiculturalism, not just cosmopolitanism, like Australia, there would be more respect for minority groups. But the separation issue remains unresolved. One of my students said that after getting married, he would quarrel with his parents every day because of family reasons, but when he and his wife went abroad, they began to live a peaceful life without any disturbance. Improving the conditions of daily life will overcome the mental stress that leads to physical illness.
Views are personal