MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS
Medical Science has made a lot of progress over the years. As all other fields of science developed over years, medicine has not laggard behind. Science has made impressive advances in the past half century that would have seemed like fiction to your grandparents. IVF, genome mapping, artificial heart etc. are all representatives of the long way we have come in the field of medicine.
In Spite of all this progress and advancement are we still turning a blind eye towards mental health disorders and the number of lives and families they affect each year? Why are mental disorders considered less of a disease?
According to a report published by WHO in 2001, one in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives. Treatments are available but due to the stigmas around mental health disorders around two-thirds of people having them either don’t acknowledge them or even if they do, they don’t get proper care and treatment due to discrimination and neglect. Dr. Brock Chisholm, the first Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), in 1954, had presciently declared that “without mental health there can be no true physical health.”
Depression is one of the leading causes of disability. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15-29-year-olds. About 14% of the global burden of disease is attributed to neuropsychiatric disorders. People with severe mental health conditions die prematurely – as much as two decades early – due to preventable physical conditions. Currently, more than 40% of countries have no mental health policy and over 30% have no mental health programme. The gap between people needing care and people who have access to it remains large. Governments spend just about 1% of their health budget to provide aid to people having these issues. People suffering from these disorders bear the brunt of the negligence of the Governments.
Adolescents as a group are vulnerable to mental health disorders as they go through a series of physical and emotional changes during this phase. They may feel that expectations of family and peers are too high and they don’t know who to discuss their problems with. All this pushes them in an abyss of hopelessness and stress.
People from lower socio-economic backgrounds are also vulnerable to mental health disorders as they lead their lives under a lot of stress and uncertainty. They in general have poor health due to lack of means. People having disabilities or people from LGBTQ community also come under vulnerable groups as many times they suffer from social dissent. Any family history of mental disorder can also be a risk factor.
Despite the chronic and long-term nature of some mental disorders, with the proper treatment, people suffering from mental disorders can live productive lives and be a vital part of their communities. The treatments are also not very expensive.
We don’t prioritize our mental health as much as we prioritize our physical well-being but a point to keep in mind is that physical and mental health are linked to each other. A mental trauma can transform into a deadly ailment overtime. Therefore, we should prioritize our overall well-being. We all should work and try to augment awareness about mental health. We should aim to build as society where people can openly acknowledge their mental traumas and ask for help. For the large Indian population to be involved in its own mental health, the only way forward is through enhancing mental health awareness which will generate its own demand. With rising awareness, it can be expected that early recognition and access to treatment will follow, as will the adoption of preventive measures.
1. INTERNET AND SOCIAL MEDIA:
Hand-held devices and social media can truly be game-changers in the propagation of effective mental health interventions through focused amplification, and not just in increasing information.
With the greater utilization of big data, the understanding of subtle and distributed patterns over large volumes shall inform decision making.
2. EDUCATION:
Most mental health disorders start before the age of 24. Till this age the majority of people are linked with some or the other educational institution. Topics related to mental health should be included in the curricula, if possible. Also workshops can be held to make students aware about various mental health issues. Educational institutions can take a myriad of steps to de-stigmatize mental health disorders and create a safe space for students.
3. GOVERNMENT SCHEMES:
Despite some caviling about the quantum, the government remains the biggest single spender in the mental health sector. While most new interventions remain isolated and confined to urban areas, it is only the public health system through large programs which can reach the rural masses.
Apart from the National and District Mental Health Programs, the National Rural Health Mission is on its way to becoming the vehicle for delivering mental health as a part of integrated primary care at the cutting edge of the public healthcare system. Seeing that it partners with existing private and alternative care providers in a nonthreatening manner, shall help such large interventions synergize and succeed.
4. CONVENTIONAL MEDIA:
We have seen famous personalities like Deepika Padukone, Demi Lovato, Simon Biles openly spoke about their mental health issues and proudly own them. This started a debate on ending the stigma around mental health. NGOs working towards mental health as well as the Government can ask such luminaries to take advantage of their social base and spread awareness about the same.
This will leave, in particular, an impact on the impressionable minds of adolescents.
Considering that most of the earlier strategies to enhance mental health have not succeeded over the past six decades or more in less-developed countries, the time has come to take on a new approach with renewed vigor. Mental health awareness can become both the means and the way of ending this apathy. Progressive government policies based on evidence-based approaches, an engaged media, a vibrant educational system, aggressive utilization of newer technologies might together help dispel the blight of mental illnesses.
Written by- Soumya Saxena
