An Indian High School Student’s Mental Health Journey Involving Urdu Poetry

Hey guys! I’m Aamna, a 16-year-old high school student in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, India. My purpose here is to inform you about my mental health story, and hopefully, we can all learn ways to better cope with such struggles from my experiences.

The first thing you should know about me is that I’m willing to listen to everyone, but I don’t often find myself exposing my struggles to others. This continued to be a trend until finally, my internal bubble exploded out of my best friend. Thankfully, rather than judging me, she comforted me. From this I learned that I shouldn't have kept all my issues bottled within me; it isn’t as helpful as sharing it with someone who understands you. 

My environment at home doesn’t provide the best environment for me, especially for my mental health. I find myself lacking the ability to make my own choices. A large part of what I’m pressured towards by my parents is to constantly get good grades, which gives me stress and anxiety along with the expectations of the community around me. Regardless, I deal with my stress and anxiety through methods such as drinking chai (at 2 AM), writing Urdu poetry, and talking to my friends about what I’m going through. Other activities I enjoy doing at other times include gaming, listening to music, and watching soap TV dramas. 

Overall, I just wish people would understand that how I appear on the outside doesn’t fully represent my internal struggles. I could be going through so much, and I’d have a smile on my face all the time. The biggest takeaway I wish to pass along is that you don’t have to be strong and endure it all forever; asking for help is beneficial.