As the body gets sick, so does the mind. Diseases of the mind are called mental diseases. Just hearing the word “mental illness” brings fear to our hearts. a shame Victims of mental illness are also looked down upon. This is a very wrong thought.
We need to understand that physical illnesses as well as mental illnesses can be cured or controlled by medication or other therapeutic treatments. Understanding can be of great service to people who are neglected as mentally ill.
Regarding people who are victims of mental disorders, the number of victims of serious and non-serious mental illnesses is between eight and ten per cent of the total population. The number of victims of severe mental illness is 2 per cent. This is a very high value. Therefore, more attention should be paid to it.
Mental disorders are brain-related illnesses. The main causes of such diseases are genetic. Accidental brain damage can lead to mental disorders. Most people develop mental disorders around the age of 16. Since then, the patient spends the rest of his life with a mental disability.
It has been revealed that the average life expectancy of Sri Lankans is 73 years. From that point of view, the time spent by the sick person from the age of 16 to the age of 73 is useless. That time is not useful for that person. The society also has no use for that person. Also, imagine that a mentally ill person commits suicide at the age of 25. Then the person loses the time from age 25 to age 73.
When we take the sum of the time spent on disability due to disease and the life lost due to a disease, the figure is highest for mental illness. It does not show much value for diseases such as heart failure.
Compared with all diseases, the figure is twelve and six-tenths per cent. Now let’s find out what are the reasons for showing such a high value.
The main reason for this high rate is that mental illness is most common during adolescence. Also, when dealing with serious mental illnesses, eighty per cent are long-term illnesses. Those diseases require long-term medication.
Adolescent mental illness disrupts academic performance. Work is disrupted. Therefore, it is difficult to live a married life. That person has to live as a burden to the family.
The number of strong mental illnesses that are common in our society is 3. These are schizophrenia, mania, and depression. In addition, many suffer from non-acute mental disorders such as fear, anxiety, and chronic drug addiction.
Schizophrenia appears in men between the ages of 16-25 and in women between the ages of 25-40. Because this is a dangerous type of mental disorder, they have to pay for mental disabilities for most of their life. That is if proper treatment is not received.
Diseases such as heart disease and diabetes often occur after the age of 40. At that time, the victims of those diseases are those who have finished their education, got married, are employed and reached a stable position in society. People who suffer from heart disease, diabetes etc. are not ostracized from society. Neither is ineffective. They live a normal life by taking medicine for the disease. But about 80% of patients with schizophrenia do not get to live a normal life.
Behavioural mania is an acute mental illness in society. This also appears in the early stage. Although this is not a life-long illness as severe as schizophrenia, it is a relapsing illness. Here also education, married life can be disrupted. They should be hospitalized for treatment.
Depression is another serious mental illness that is prevalent in our society. Depression ranks 4th in terms of damage caused by mental illness. Overall, nearly 10 per cent of our population suffers from depression.
Women are twice as likely to suffer from depression as men. Also, the dangerous situation here is that 15-20 per cent of the patients suffering from depression commit suicide.
It has been found that 90 per cent of people who commit suicide suffer from some form of mental illness. It has also been revealed that more than 50 per cent of people who commit suicide do so because of depression.
A depressed person cannot work efficiently. Even if they work, their productivity is low. If a mother has depression, it directly affects the children’s educational activities and it can also be a reason for marital discord due to reasons such as disorder in the home.
Another important fact that has been revealed about depression is that some of the mothers who have given birth to children suffer from depression in the postpartum period. Also, it is a disease that can directly affect the lives of not only newborn children but also the lives of older children and husbands.
Addiction to alcohol and drugs is also considered a mental disorder and falls under non-dangerous mental disorders. It has been revealed that 26% of the people living in some areas of Sri Lanka are harmfully addicted to alcohol. Also, there are people in our society with minor mental disorders such as fear, depression, and anxiety.
If the above-mentioned acute mental illnesses are managed to be treated quickly, the mental disorders of those people will be reduced. Longer the period without treatment after the onset of the disease, the greater the patient’s disability. Later treatments are less effective.
In many countries, the main reason for the delay in the treatment of the victims of mental disorders is people’s adherence to blind beliefs. Some people believe that mental illness is caused by the influence of a supernatural force, something like planetary evil or sudden death.
Following those beliefs, many people delay medical treatment by wasting time and money. Some people spend years tying threads, cutting lime, cutting lime etc. When time is spent on such useless things, the patient’s brain cells are destroyed and the brain becomes disabled.
The slander in our society about mental illness has also caused the patient to hide. Most people don’t even want to admit that a family member has a mental illness. Therefore, they hide the patient without going to a doctor. Also, the reluctance to believe that a family member has a mental illness has also led to not seeking medical treatment quickly. Such patients are treated clandestinely.
Some people consider even seeing a doctor to treat a mental illness as a cause of humiliation. Every omission, every ignorance, and every foolish act results in the aggravation of the mental illness of the victim.
Some people are used to stopping the treatment after a few days even after taking treatment for a mental disorder. Some people think that there is no need for continuous treatment no matter how much advice the doctors give. Here, the patient does not take treatment due to ignorance about his disease and the patient’s family members do not provide treatment to the patient due to non-observance of medical advice. The result is that the disease gets worse.
So if your family member is suffering from any mental illness, there are 3 important things to remember. That means immediate treatment, effective treatment until results are obtained, and prevention of recurrence. It can be called the trinity of psychiatric treatment. Treatment can prevent the long-term effects of mental illness.
There is less awareness in society about mental illness and its prevention compared to other diseases. What has happened is that society is not informed even though informed people do not know.
Another problem in treating the mentally ill is the shortage of psychiatrists in our country. Another thing that has caused society to not have correct knowledge about mental illness is that those who present facts about mental illness through the media are not the ones who have correct knowledge about the subject. The result is an increase in society’s myths about mental illness.
Although hospitals have high facilities for patients who suffer accidents due to reasons such as drunkenness, careless driving, and riots, as well as for those who suffer from heart disease due to not controlling their mouths, there are unfortunately few facilities for those who suffer from mental illnesses through no fault of their own.