Today, 10 October, is observed internationally as WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY. Events in various countries highlight the need to educate everyone about what mental health is. It is also an opportunity to de stigmatize mental disorders.
WHO estimates that fully 25% of Nepal's population suffers from some mental health issues - depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia being the major ones. The decade-long insurgency has further exacerbated the dent in the nation's mental health. The April earthquake and the current blockade have not improved matters. Mental health services are abysmal with around 50 psychiatrists, mostly in the capital, and even fewer psychotherapists. The next budget has zero allocation for mental health!
The next time you see a person with mental disorder, please do not dehumanize her/him by simply dismissing the person as mad, crazy, or worse. Mental disorders are rooted in chemical imbalance of the brain. Proper medication, therapy, support from family and friends, conducive environment, exercise, and spiritualism can pave the way for a perfectly normal productive life.
There is no health without mental health!
WHO estimates that fully 25% of Nepal's population suffers from some mental health issues - depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia being the major ones. The decade-long insurgency has further exacerbated the dent in the nation's mental health. The April earthquake and the current blockade have not improved matters. Mental health services are abysmal with around 50 psychiatrists, mostly in the capital, and even fewer psychotherapists. The next budget has zero allocation for mental health!
The next time you see a person with mental disorder, please do not dehumanize her/him by simply dismissing the person as mad, crazy, or worse. Mental disorders are rooted in chemical imbalance of the brain. Proper medication, therapy, support from family and friends, conducive environment, exercise, and spiritualism can pave the way for a perfectly normal productive life.
There is no health without mental health!
3 comments:
Appreciate the way that you try to further this cause and try to help people in need.
Thank you, Kiran. Just doing my small bit, hoping it will help. Long way to go on mental health in Nepal.
This (ignorance, lack of services, denial)is not only true in Nepal but in all the developed countries as well.
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