Humans are continuously evolving, and the evolution is a non-stop process. Each stage of progress presents unique difficulties. When we see today’s era then we understand that mental health problems are at their peak. But, when we consider the history of humans, we see that ancient medical science was also good, but mental health problems at that time were so less or negligible. Although our other problems are somehow fixed, the new challenge at this time is ‘mental health.’ It is so important to discuss mental health problems nowadays. We mostly controlled our physical health problems, but it is a necessity to look at mental health problems.

Why didn’t people in the past have mental health problems?

The biggest challenge to the people in the past was ‘survival.’ They only used their physical or muscular power to do the work. The use of the brain was limited in that era. The needs were also limited at that time. To use the brain for limited work and thoughts were not too complex. The normal use of the brain didn’t put much strain on it. Hence, the people in the past didn’t have mental health problems.

Why do today’s people have mental health problems?

As modernization is happening in the world, physical work has declined. Humans are using their brains to the maximum extent. Today’s education is also too complex and high-level. Many researchers are doing their research daily. Studies of the brain are also happening all over the world. To handle these critical situations, humans need to use their brains at most. The challenges of today’s era are not just about fulfilling basic needs but are more than that, things that we can't even imagine. That’s why encountering problems like anxiety and depression is common because they arise when we are using our brains. As time passes, humans will be able to handle these problems with ease.

Biological and Environmental Factors of Today’s Era:

Lifestyle of humans is changing with the change in time. Biological factors like diet, sleep are also important. Because of more mental work, many people compromise their sleep. Most of the food of today’s generation is heavy to digest. As modernization is happening, we are losing our healthy and satisfactory lives. Hybrid food and crops made with fertilizers are also not 100% healthy to humans. This insufficient sleep, heavy and hybrid food, also causes mental illness. They also lead to mental problems. Our genetics are such that we can digest natural or organic food. But, in gym, we also eat proteins like creatine, which is also harmful to the human body. The environment of these days is also changing and undergoes sudden changes. Environmental and biological factors also regulate mental health problems.

Traditional community support and spiritual practices:

In the past, people lived in joint families. Fundamental needs of each other are fulfilled by the community itself. They were helping each other in their work and lived together in brotherhood. The schools in that time were also different. The school system of that time mainly focused on developing awareness in students and making them mentally strong. The knowledge at that time was more practical. 'Gurukul’ schools of that time conducted various spiritual activities that strengthened and enhanced student's minds. Hence, because of these things, the minds of past people were strong enough that they didn’t get mental health problems.

Emphasize the need for empathy, understanding, and modern solutions:

When we are looking at the solution to this problem, we see that modern health science has many solutions to this. Modern health science also suggests ancient spiritual practices like meditation, yoga to escape from such mental health problems. We have to understand the problem and emphasize the need for empathy. We have to train our minds to handle such conditions. To train the mind, the solutions are meditation, yoga, and connection to nature. Modern medicines can only decrease the level of anxiety and depression, but to eradicate it, we need to understand ourselves and manage these problems with our mind’s medicine along with modern medical treatment.