Ensuring mental health

Rarely do our politicians visit the Mental Hospital. When they do they don't fail to comment on its deplorable condition. The same was true when Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena visited the Angoda Mental Hospital which is now renamed National Institute of Mental Health. The Minister hit out at politicians and public servants saying their neglect and lack of responsibility was a major contributory factor for mental health problems among Sri Lankans. True, neglect and lack of care for the public by politicians and public servants, the failure or delay to attend to their problems is a good enough reason to drive any one nuts. But the issues today are far more complicated lending to mental illnesses taking various forms and dimensions.

Mental problems are often not clearly evident today but manifest themselves in various forms; the result of stress and anxiety due to the complex world we live in. It is said that in 15 years time mental illness will be the number one cause of morbidity in the world. The Government itself concedes that the country has one of the highest suicide rates of any country in the world and increasing substance misuse and psychological problems. Also after years of conflict, the 2004 tsunami and an estimated two percent of the population suffering from serious mental illnesses, the need for an effective policy on mental illness has never been more greater.

Today, mental health has assumed a whole new dimension that has been unravelled with the evolution of modern psychology and the detection of new types of mental diseases hitherto unknown. These have been attributed to the shift in the behaviourial patterns that is related to the drastic transformation of the living environment. Treatment of mental illnesses too have evolved over the decades with wholly new methods being used for new and complex mental disorders.

Gone are the days when life coasted on a sedate tranquil pace which did not impose undue pressures on the mind. Life was a straightforward affair and as a result mental illness among society was a rarity. However, with the social upheavals wrought especially by the open economy the Sri Lanka society underwent a huge metamorphosis. The fast pace of life, the perennial rat race, lack of time for leisurely pursuits and the general tensions associated with modern living have taken our people to the very brink. As a result the few psychiatrists we have in Sri Lanka are being kept busy with our mental health institutions becoming overcrowded.

It is time that the Government pays more attention than is currently done in addressing the problem of the rising rate of mental patients in the country. The problem has exacerbated with the addition of a large army of mentally unstable as result of the fall-out of the war, who still bear the trauma and psychological scars of their horrendous experience. Needless to say special attention should be paid to this segment. Special attention should also be paid to ensure the mental stability and equilibrium of those in the Welfare Centres. This is considering the harrowing ordeal they underwent at the tail end of the war when they made their escape bid from the clutches of the LTTE. The Tamil youth now undergoing rehabilitation too should be evaluated for their mental health. For, addressing their physical well-being alone, without paying attention to the most vital aspect of their mental health, will not suffice. There are also a large number of war widows on both sides who will need mental succour to get over their trauma. The tsunami also has left behind a large number of persons with mental scars. In fact the Government will have to pay attention to the mental well-being of a wide gamut of the war affected, the displaced and destitute which is going to be a Herculean task.

Hence there is a need to deal with the issue in a efficient and holistic manner. There is need to modernize existing services, create new and additional services, recruit and train more skilled staff. Because the challenges posed in the field of mental health are becoming more and more complex. We say this because there are also a segment of our youth today who are increasingly turning themselves into veritable zombies hooked as they to the computers sans any awareness outside of their little worlds.They should be woken up to the world of reality. There are also those hooked on drugs who will need special care and attention. Hence the Government has its work cut out in dealing with the challenges confronting it on the mental health front. It is important that it devises effective ways to deal fast with the problem. Lest this stands in the way of development and progress.