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Sandisiwe Mahlangu
ONE in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives, according to the World Health Organisation.
WHO statistics say around 450 million people today suffer from such conditions, placing mental disorders among the leading causes of ill-health and disability worldwide.
Ladies and gentlemen I open my first instalment as a columnist with mental health, a critical subject that is generally undervalued by communities.
Mental health is an integral and essential component of health. Failure to give mental illness due attention could negatively affect the development of communities.
Zimbabwe joined the rest of the world last Saturday in commemorating the World Mental Health Day. The day is commemorated every year on October 10.
Zimbabweans need to understand what is meant by mental health and how it can help turnaround the economy of our country.
The term mental health is commonly used in reference to mental illness. Although these are related they represent different psychological states.
Mental health is a state of well being in which an individual realises his or her abilities. The individual can cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively and be able to make a contribution to his/her community. In this positive sense, mental health is the foundation for individual well being and the effective functioning of a community and is associated with improved mental outcomes.
Mental illness is defined as “collectively all diagnosable mental disorders” or health conditions that are characterised by alterations in thinking, mood or behaviour (or some combination thereof) associated with distress and /impaired functioning. Psychological disorders include mood disorders, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, thought disorders, eating disorders, addiction and dementia just to mention a few.
In the health care and public arena, more emphasis and resources have been devoted to screening, diagnosis and treatment of mental illness than mental health. Little has been done to maintain the mental health of those free of mental illness. Research suggests that there are indicators of mental health and these include emotional well-being, psychological well-being and social well-being.
Emotional well-being looks at such issues as perceived life satisfaction, happiness, cheerfulness and peacefulness.
Psychological well-being includes self-acceptance, personal growth including openness to new experiences, optimism, hopefulness, purpose in life, control of one’s environment, spirituality, self direction and positive relationships. Social well-being looks at social acceptance, beliefs in the potential of people and society as a whole, a person’s self-worth and usefulness to society and sense of community.
Mental health strengthens and supports our ability to have healthy relationships, make good life choices, maintain physical health and well-being, handle the natural ups and downs of life, discover and grow towards our potential.
Mental health treatment reduces medical costs. Many research studies have shown that when people receive appropriate mental health care, their use of medical services decline. Other studies have shown that people with untreated mental health problems visit a medical doctor twice as often as people who receive mental health care.
Excessive anxiety and stress can contribute to physical problems such as heart disease, ulcers and colitis. Anxiety and stress can also reduce the strength of the immune system making people more vulnerable to conditions ranging from common cold to cancer.
Psychological problems also increase the likelihood of people making poor behavioural choices which can contribute to medical problems. Smoking, excessive alcohol or drug abuse, poor eating habits and reckless behaviour can all result in severe physical problems and need for medical services.
Sound mental health is good for businesses. Businesses benefit when employees are mentally healthy. Mental health is associated with higher productivity, better performance, more consistent work attendance and fewer workplace accidents. Mental health services increase a company’s efficiency, productive capacity and quality of goods and services by eliminating the causes of productivity loss, absenteeism and worker accidents.
Psychological disorders have aetiologies that are largely multi factorial, involving complex interactions between genetics and environmental factors. Aetiology is the cause, set of causes, or manner of causation of a disease or condition. A number of factors have been implicated in the development of psychological disorders but their relative contributions to mental illness are specific to different disorders and individual patients and a precise cause can rarely be identified on an individual basis.
Biological factors include but are not limited to genetics, head injuries, pathogens, substance abuse, and problems during growth or birth.
Environmental factors include poor nutrition, exposure to toxins, stressful life events, chronic stress, culture, abuse, poverty and war. These mentioned factors here do not act in isolation to contribute to the development of psychological disorders and the nature of gene by environment interactions is the subject of substantial research.
Effects of psychological disorders on the patient include greater risk of decreased quality of life, educational difficulties, lowered productivity and poverty, social problems, vulnerability to abuse and additional health problems. To the families or caregivers, the burden of caring for mentally ill individuals often falls on the immediate family or relatives.
The caregivers are often unable to work at a full capacity due to the demands of caring for the mentally ill individual, leading to decreased economic output and a reduction in household income. Loss of income and the financial costs of caring for the mentally ill person put these households at an increased risk of poverty. Family members may also experience significant and chronic stress due to emotional and physical challenges of caring for a mentally ill family member.
Attitudes towards mental illness vary among individuals, families, ethnicities, cultures and countries. Cultural and religious teachings often influence beliefs about the origins and nature of mental illness and shape attitudes towards the mentally ill. In addition to influencing whether mentally ill individuals experience social stigma, beliefs about mental illness can affect patient’s readiness and willingness to seek and adhere to treatment. Therefore understanding individual and cultural beliefs is essential for the implementation of effective approaches to mental health care.
Common barriers to mental health care access include limited availability and affordability of mental health care services, lack of education on mental illness and stigma. Stigma and discrimination has been a major challenge in mental health. Mental illness stigma is defined as the devaluing, disgracing and disfavouring by the general public of individuals with mental illness. Stigma leads to discrimination.
In 2001, the World Health Organisation(WHO) identified stigma and discrimination towards mentally ill individual as the single most important barrier to overcome in the community and the WHO’s Mental Health Global Action Programme cited advocacy against stigma and discrimination as one of its four core strategies for improving the state of global mental health.
Limited knowledge about mental illness can prevent individuals from recognising mental illness and seek treatment. Poor understanding of mental illness also impair families’ abilities to provide adequate care for mentally ill relatives.
It is therefore, the primary purpose of this article and upcoming ones to help bring awareness to the general public on mental health issues looking in detail the different psychological disorders that individuals in our communities suffer from, preventive strategies and promotive strategies to maintain optimum mental health.
About the writer: Sandisiwe Mahlangu is a Psychiatric mental health nurse. Contact details: Cell: 0774782282. Email: [email protected]
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