Editor’s note: This is the first column in a four-part series on mental health and gun control.
Mental health is, by far, one of the most important parts of the human condition. It has everything to do with everything we do, with every way that we are. It is, and always has been, one of the fundamental factors our humanity. It is a driving factor for how capable we are, how wonderful and fulfilled our lives may possibly be, or how hellish and treacherous day to day living can become.
From the moment we achieve self-actualization to the moment we die, there is only one person who we shall spend every waking moment of our lives with: ourselves. To live a life detesting that person, not understanding that person and not being able to communicate with that person effectively leads to endless days of turmoil.
With the abilities of thought we have achieved, we have also opened ourselves to new stresses and dangers, the likes of which we did not have the luxury of experiencing before. Our minds, and the thoughts and states which accompany them, will always be a part of us. They will follow us and evolve with us until we do exactly what has been done by 99 percent of all other species on this planet: fall into extinction.
At every turn, at every moment and at every breath taken in our lives, our minds will always be with us. Because of this, I find it ridiculous that so many people cast no consideration toward the importance of the state of so many human minds.
Those fortunate enough to be free of ailments of the mind that plague so many of their fellow do so great an injustice that it is nearly impossible to put the crime in words. To not mind an entire state of existence, purely because it does not pertain to one’s self, is an act of selfishness that does nothing but make the problem worse for those it does concern.
If I cannot reach people by accusing them of negligence, all I can do is continually stress the importance of the matter that far too many people think nothing of.
Mental health, whether in good or bad condition, is — in a way — what everything comes down to. It influences the way we see and understand the world, determines how we view the actions and relationships between others and ourselves and influences how we feel about ourselves at every moment of our lives. It should never be ignored, though it often is. It is as necessary a matter to mind as much as it is to breathe. It is us, and we are it. I cannot stress this enough.
Jordan Marcell is a 20-year-old literature and studio photography sophomore from Geismar, Louisiana.