By Samip Dhakal
As we know mental health refers to the wellbeing of psychodynamic, emotional, cognitive and behavioral aspect. It is all about how we think, behave, feel and develop ourselves. According to WHO mental health is “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to contribute to his or her community”
As sometimes our physical condition or health deteriorates due to various factors that may be accident, illness or disease, sometimes our mental health may also be affected due to several reasons thus called mental illness. It could be from stress, social isolation, social disadvantage, trauma or bereavement. Mental illness has been rising globally as well as in our country in recent years. The number of people suffering is increasing rapidly but the ones to treat are not.
Nepal’s mental health policy was formulated in 1996 with policies like ensuring the availability and accessibility of minimum mental health services for all the population of Nepal, preparing human resources in the area of mental health, protecting the fundamental human rights of the mentally ill; and improving awareness about mental health. Still the facilities for mental health are not developed or increased for what is required as less than one percent of health expenditure is spent on mental health. People are finding it hard to get beds even in the central mental health hospital in Nepal.
The number of people dying from suicide in Nepal is estimated to be 6840 in 2015 or 8.2 suicides per 100,000 people. That means almost 19 people died by suicide every day in 2015. The number of suicides increased as we had a total of 1,647 cases that were filed as of June 27, 2020, in police stations all over Nepal, with an average of 18 people killing themselves every day since the enforcement of the lockdown. There was 25 percent increase in suicide as compared to the record before lockdown and as we know the cause was mental illness.
The government and people should start taking mental health seriously as the number of people suffering from mental disorder and deaths due to it is increasing rapidly. As it causes anxiety, phobias, mood disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). From child to adult, anyone can suffer from a mental disorder. Risk factors for mental health could be social and economic conditions, trauma, gender, ethnicity and even biological factors. Our mental health is not something that we should be ashamed of or run from rather it is to be overcome. Globally people are taking strong measures to manage and take care of their mental health. Therapies, medication and self-help can help us overcome our illness and have good mental health.
During this prohibitory order period take your time to watch yourself and your family members, if you are feeling something is wrong within yourself or anyone else around you, then don’t be afraid and ask for help or provide other’s your support. As they will be with you in your journey to overcome the problem you are having or the one, they are. Mental health is no joke and shouldn’t be considered one.
The writer is a student of the Kathmandu University School Of Management (KUSOM)
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