World Mental Health Day: Do We Need It?

 


What is mental health?

According to the World Health Organization, the United Nations agency responsible for leadership and guidance on health-related issues globally, mental health is a state of mental well-being and the foundation of our individual and collective abilities to make decisions, build relationships and shape the world we live in. It is crucial to personal, community and socio-economic development.

In my therapy practice, most clients’ issues can be traced back to lack of attention to their mental health as they were growing. Parents either have little or no information about the psychological needs of infants and this continues, as they grow, into adolescence and adulthood - in schools, institutions of higher learning and eventually, workplaces. It is only recently that schools and workplaces have begun to see the need to hire counsellors.

How bad is the mental health picture? 

Worldwide, around 20 percent of the world’s children and adolescents have a mental health condition, with suicide the second leading cause of death among 15-29-year-olds. And, 1 in every 8 people in the world has a mental disorder.

Mental health conditions have a substantial effect on all areas of life, such as school or work performance, relationships with family and friends and ability to participate in the community. Two of the most common mental health conditions, depression and anxiety, cost the global economy US$ 1 trillion each year. Despite these figures, the global median of government health expenditure that goes to mental health is less than 2 percent. 

There was a time when information on what it takes to be mentally healthy was not available. Thanks to the Internet, this has changed. Information on emotional needs of children and adolescents is now widely available, and parents and teachers – who have a major role in shaping individual lives - can access this information and apply the knowledge. Adults, too, can access this information and determine if they need help in dealing with the stresses and strains of everyday life.

Role of Parents 

Parents see their responsibility as providing a good home and education to enable their children to fit into society, with a career, a relationship, marriage and children. Then their work is done. But parents, with little knowledge of their own emotional needs, cannot take care of their children’s emotional needs. It is only recently some efforts have been made to include emotional development curricula in schools. While the children may become aware of how to handle their emotions, the parents still are not.

Often, the aspirations of parents for their children create conflict in children. If children were allowed to bloom and grown in their true nature, chances are the struggles they face could be avoided. I write about this in a previous blog post on ‘The Search for the Authentic Self.’

Most clients in my therapy practice struggle with expectations of parents, partners and society, in dealing with careers, relationships (family, friends, partners, careers). They find it difficult to navigate their way in these relationships. It is rare that they start by asking themselves: what do I want?

 Especially in the low-income countries of the world and in low-income families, children are raised not to think of themselves but others. In intergenerational families living together, there is usually a hierarchy, in which children are at the bottom of the family chain. Decisions are made for them and later, as adults, it’s difficult for them to have clarity about their value systems, thinking and actions.

The positive development in recent times is that more people are speaking out about mental health and seeking help in various ways, including therapy. There is better data collection and more information in the public domain. So, there is little excuse for not informing ourselves.

World Mental Health Day is a reminder for us all that it’s our responsibility to become aware and knowledgeable about mental health. Taking charge of our mental health is a priority. 

“The only thing more exhausting than having a mental illness is pretending like you don’t.”   Unknown

 

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