An X user has sparked a discussion on social media after he shared how his mental health "improved by miles" the moment he moved from India to the United States. It all started with a post by another X user on men's mental health. "What's the tweet that's like 'This is why we need men in mental health because Gandalf immediately knows Theoden needs to swing a sword around for a bit'?" the X user wrote. Replying to this, Abhirath Batra said that his mental health improved ever since he shifted to the US. He also explained his reasoning, saying that it is mainly because he has to do everything himself, from cooking to vacuuming the house.
"My mental health has improved by miles the moment I moved to the US because I'm back to using my hands. I'm cooking, washing dishes, vacuuming and before I know it my mind is calm and I'm humming a song. I have been the happiest building the massive load of IKEA deliveries today. 'Busy hands, quiet mind'" Mr Batra tweeted.
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Mr Batra's tweet prompted a flurry of responses on the micro-blogging site. It accumulated more than 101,000 views. In the comments section, while some users agreed with Mr Batra, others questioned what was stopping him from doing all these house chores in India.
"I swear!! I've been cooking all my meals myself in prep for usa later this year. I made dosa for the first time today and it felt so good!! All food you cook tastes at least 5x better than the one that you get easily, call it fruits of your labor or stg," wrote one user.
"Everytime, I am upset or anxious or just mind going gaga, I go to the kitchen and make myself a smoothie or an omellete or start watering my plants. Working with hands or any home chores are second biggest mental health improver after working out, I feel," shared another.
"Agree! Although it's just my personal experience and might not apply to everyone, moving to a new country and living alone felt surprisingly natural to me, contrary to my own concerns. Ig living independently anywhere really makes you feel like you're in the driver's seat of life," commented one user.
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However, one user asked, "Was anything stopping you from doing those when you were not in the US?" "Enough manual work in India if we want. What keeps you from doing this in India?" wrote another. "Well, somehow this feels less of empowerment and more of "majboori" because of high cost household support staff," questioned one user.
Responding to these, Mr Batra shared that he is aware that he can do all these chores by himself anywhere, but he added that he felt the difference strongly once he moved to the United States. "I know being in US isn't required to work with hands. I did my own cooking and chores when I lived away from parents in Hyderabad too. It just so happens that I felt this difference strongly when I moved abroad," he explained.
