How To Cope Mental Illness With Dignity?
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World Mental Health Day, 10th Oct 2015, has support in World Federation Of Mental Health and the World Health Organization. The emphasis this year is how to cope being mentally ill and keep one’s dignity intact. It is also a day of reverence in more than 100 countries in the world.
This year has laid down factors in themes for discussion, such as mentally ill people to be treated with respect and dignity; supporting dignity through mental health legislations, total health for all this century, being accepted and accommodates in one’s own family and stringent measures taken to magnify work force which is easily accessible to ever mentally ill individual.
On this observant day, activities such as proclamation signed by concerned official’s, public service announcements, educational lectures and distribution of research papers on mental health issues; and last but not the least, awards to individuals or organizations who have been significant in addressing and improving mental health criteria. Generally, World Mental Health Day, is reaching out globally; thereby, using protective tools to spread awareness.
Mental mind matters encompass & affect nearly twelve percent of the world’s population; comprising of 450 million or one out of every four people around the world. This kind of global awareness talks about diagnosis and treatment. Even something like depression, is considered a form of mental illness. World Health Day was first celebrated in 1992 as an initiative of WFMH (World Federation for Mental Health), which has delegates in and around 150 countries. Each year the UN through WHO actively participates in promoting this event.
Back home on Indian Terrain, mental illness has been looked upon with stigma, ignorance and superstition from eras gone by. WHO (World Health Organization) foretells by 2020 at least 20 percent will be victims of this epidemic. India is still not well equipped to handle the seriousness of this issue. For the moment, we have only 3500 psychiatrists for the 20 million Indian’s suffering from Mental Illness. This relates too the fact that there is only one psychiatrist for more that 10,000 people which is very miniscule.
A triggering of this mental unrest, has lead to rising crime rate, rampant corruption and general unrest that people call out for professional psychiatric help that deserves dignity to ponder upon.
The focus of this issue is far from being ignored. Psychiatry and psychology have come together to reach out to, for example, people suffering from psychosis, emotional upheavals and even life adjustment issues. A revised version of Mental Health bill has been presented to the Rajya Sabha. Non-government organizations, mental health professional experts and the government, need to come together and stage one platform to deal with all these issue from deep down within; keeping dignity in mind.
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This year, the theme is, “Dignity in Mental Health”. People with mental health issues are faced with increasing loneliness, lack of social support and diminishing health that makes them fall into a rut of depression. We pledge to increase both awareness and sensitivity about various mental health issues and the difficulties faced by people who have them. To conclude, let us just take time out to think, to feel, and foster tender loving care.
