Sarmad Khoso. Teacher and writer
The World Health Organisation recognizes “World Mental Health” Day on 10 October every year. Every year the theme of this day is different. The theme of this year’s World Mental Health Day, set by the World Federation for Mental Health, is ‘Mental health in an unequal world’.
World Mental Health Day is also a chance to talk about mental health in general, how we need to look after it, and how important it is to talk about things and get help if you are struggling.
World Mental Health Day is an international day for global mental health education, awareness, and advocacy against social stigma. It was first celebrated in 1992 at the initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health, a global mental health organization with members and contacts in more than 150 countries.
The overall objective of World Mental Health Day is to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health.
The Day provides an opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health issues to talk about their work, and what more needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide.
Mental health problems affect 10–20% of children and adolescents worldwide. Despite their relevance as a leading cause of health-related disability in this age group and their long-lasting effects throughout life, the mental health needs of children and adolescents are neglected, especially in low-income and middle-income countries. In this report, we review the evidence and the gaps in the published work in terms of prevalence, risk, and protective factors, and interventions to prevent and treat childhood and adolescent mental health problems. We also discuss barriers to and approaches for, the implementation of such strategies in low-resource settings. Action is imperative to reduce the burden of mental health problems in future generations and to allow for the full development of vulnerable children and adolescents worldwide.
Mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders are very common among young people. Because they are still in growing age, aggressive, and unaware about most of the hard realities of the world. So they use drugs and even suicide in many cases.
Mental health is a very big problem for every age group. Although stigma is identified as a major barrier to the use of mental health services among the peoples.
It is unfortunate that globally, more than 70% of people with mental illness receive no treatment from health care staff. Evidence suggests that factors increasing the likelihood of treatment avoidance or delay before presenting for care include:
(1) lack of knowledge to identify features of mental illnesses.
(2) ignorance about how to access treatment.
(3) prejudice against people who have a mental illness.
(4) expectation of discrimination against people diagnosed with mental illness.
Mental health stigma operates in society, is internalized by individuals, and is attributed to health professionals. This ethics-laden issue acts as a barrier to individuals who may seek or engage in treatment services. The dimensions, theory, and epistemology of mental health stigma have several implications for the social work profession.
If we look at the history of mental health, then Hysteria is undoubtedly the first mental disorder attributable to women, accurately described in the second millennium BC, and until Freud considered an exclusively female disease. Over 4000 years of history, this disease was considered from two perspectives: scientific and demonological. It was cured with herbs, sex, or sexual abstinence, punished and purified with fire for its association with sorcery, and finally, clinically studied as a disease and treated with innovative therapies.
However, even at the end of the 19th century, scientific innovation had still not reached some places, where the only known therapies were those proposed by Galen. During the 20th century, several studies postulated the decline of hysteria amongst occidental patients (both women and men) and the escalating of this disorder in non-Western countries.
So, it is needed for the time that we must take care of our mental health. In this way, we can care about other people also, which are part of our society. I would if we are mentally easy and fresh, then we can perform our duties very well and if we are mentally upset then we can not do anything properly.