Juna Bobby MD, EdMFounder, MindBodySpace LLC · RELAX TO SOAR™️ Method Workshops • Mindbodyspace Podcast • NYU SOM M.D. • Harvard Ed.M. • Juilliard Resilience Faculty

Dartmouth researcher on mental health habits #Shorts

17 Sept 2026 · 1 min

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0:49

In this brief YouTube Shorts dialogue, Speaker A argues that mental health care should be treated as a routine, non‑optional part of daily life—comparable to brushing one’s teeth—rather than something people only address after a crisis. Speaker B expands the conversation by questioning the prevailing cultural definition of mental health and criticizing overly broad, generic advice that can obscure the nuanced reality of human suffering. The exchange underscores the idea that suffering is an essential aspect of being human and that mental‑health messaging should acknowledge this complexity rather than simplify it.

I feel like mental health is something everybody should get. It's like brushing your teeth. It shouldn't be something that you wait until you have a cavity and your teeth fall out.
Yeah.
Mental health should not be optional. I mean, it's such a big part of your overall health.
Yeah. I also question what is the definition of mental health? What mental health lessons are we teaching? I am irritated at our culture's understanding of mental health. I understand there's a need to have like consistent messaging and that general, the mental health advice we get, okay, to talk about your feelings and check on your friends who are alone, even if they don't seem to be depressed. kinds of broad messages can hide some of the nuance and interesting aspects of mental health and what it is to be a human and suffering. You know, I'm not putting together the words well. It's not my strength, but—
No, but what you're saying is suffering is an important part of being human.
Yeah. And these are complex problems.