Page 97 - Secondary School BEATS

It’s Okay Not To Be Okay

Itsokaynottobeokayy is a cause that is very close to my heart - “it’s ok
not to be ok”, it’s ok to reach out for help”, “it’s ok to be sad”, it’s ok
to be afraid”, “it’s ok to be lonely”, “it’s ok to be angry”, “it’s ok to
be worried”, it’s ok to be discouraged”. I was always very intrigued
by the human mind and the way humans behave under varied
situations. I wanted to make a difference in the life of others in
any way that I could.

This thought crystallized during the pandemic when, on top of
ongoing stress of COVID-19 challenges and consequences, on-
line schooling, exam pressure, and loss of communication with my
friends, I changed schools. As a result I developed a very unhealthy
coping mechanism - managing stress by eating. At first I did not resort to it often;
however, after a couple of months it spun out of control, I started craving food every single
minute and gained a lot of weight. In turn, the increase in body mass and changes in my appearance fueled my
insecurity and made me even more introverted. I lost faith in myself and lacked motivation. This also affected
my school performance massively since I became underconfident.

A defining moment for me was when, while casually going through my mail I noticed a mail from my school
about HASI (Hope and Strength Initiative) conducting an Allyship Internship for high school psychology stu-
dents. At that time I was eager to seek help, I wanted to get out there and challenge myself as I have been doing
all my life, so I grasped the opportunity to learn more about mental health. To my surprise, I met a number
of teenagers and young adults struggling with the same issues that I was struggling with, some of them faced
lack of parental support, peer pressure, school etc.

I realised that the best way to reach out to my fellow teenagers would be through a social media campaign by
sharing my mental journey along with many more such similar examples and therefore removing the stigma
around mental health.

By sharing these stories, people are showing how common mental illness is, highlighting the fact that it can
impact anyone of any age in any place. But nowhere is that fact as obvious as it is on social media.

We, as teens, need to start chatting about how we can start bringing about small differences in the lives of
people around us. The trending Twitter topics we see on a daily basis hold very little purpose. They promote
meaningless drama that goes on in the lives of celebrities. Can we stop spreading rumors and sharing insulting
opinions about other people, and can we begin generating genuine conversations about topics such as mental
health?

This is our time to make a great difference in the world. We have incredible technology surrounding us that
we can use to create that great difference. It’s important that we use this technology in positive ways. The best
place to start this movement is through social media.

By Inaya Nayyar (MYP 5)

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