World Mental Health Day 2022: Things One Must Know
World Mental Health Day is celebrated every year on 10 October to raise awareness on mental health issues around the world. This year the day falls on Monday.
The first Mental Health Day was created on 10 October 1992 by the World Federation of Mental Health (WFMH), led by the then Deputy Secretary General Richard Hunter.
Raman Mittal, Co-founder of Idanim, a mobile app that practices mindfulness for productivity and growth said, "Poor mental health is a global issue that has been exacerbated by growing stress and anxiety levels especially amongst the working professionals. The World Health Organisation in 1954 declared, 'without mental health there can be no true physical health'."
Why should this day have a Significance?
The last two years have been very difficult for everyone, with the lockdown and recession caused by the covid 19 pandemic having a profound effect on the hearts and minds of people, it becomes even more important to celebrate this day.
Mental health has been the most neglected health area by the people. According to some reports, today more than 1 million people are living with mental disorder, as a result of which every 40 seconds a person commits suicide.
About 50 per cent of most mental illnesses begin by the age of 14. In such a situation, everyone needs to pay special attention to this subject and if it is not worked properly, then the situation may get worse in the coming time.
How common is Mental Illness in India?
WHO estimates that the mental health problems in India is 2443 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) per 100 00 population; the age-adjusted suicide rate per 1,00,000 population is 21.1 per cent.
Another report of WHO said that, India has the highest number of depressed individuals in the world. This means that one out of three individuals in India suffers from depression. It is estimated, that 300 million people worldwide experience depression and are overcomed by suicidal thoughts at some point.
Statistics also reveal that 18 per cwnt of the people who commit suicide have a history of failed suicide attempts in the past. It is expected that in the next ten years, depression will put more burden on nations than any other disease, as per the World Bank.
"India accounts for ⅓ mental health issues in the world. Hence, it becomes significant to explore the paradigm of mental health awareness to ensure early recognition and combat mental health stigma while stimulating simple and practical interventions within the ecosystem. In order to promote mental well-being, India must advocate mental health care for reduced stress through nationwide community volunteering," Mittal said.
How to deal with Mental Conditions?
The stressful lifestyle, ongoing negative consequences, tensions of livelihood and unemployment, can be the general reasons of suffering with various mental health comditions these days. People who are depressed or going through anxiety, overthinking issues themselves must try to bring their self out of the condition.
To avoid any kind of problem related to mental health, first of all one should pay special attention to daily diet to stay safe from any kind of disease. Apart from that, communication is the best key to come out of depression or any kind of worry. Socialising becomes a must cure for people with mental health conditions as it diverts the mind and relaxes tension. Also, counselling and therapy sessions could be a huge assistance.
Mittal said that there are 3 areas which Indian government should focus upon to help people suffering a bad mental condition:
Education: It is important to spread awareness and knowledge about the subject of mental health and eliminate the stigma associated with it. This needs to be done by different factions - media, influential folks, government agencies etc.
Access: Extending improved access to mental healthcare and encouraging the development of novel drugs alongside therapeutic treatment can reform the landscape of poor mental health in India.
Technology: Creating policies that ethically frame the use of new age technologies such as AI based mobile applications to succumb to ill mental health can significantly play a crucial role in conditioning the people suffering from bad mental health.
