World Mental health day is observed every year on October 10 to raise awareness on mental health disorders. World Mental Health day theme for 2007 is “Mental Health in a Changing World: the Impact of Culture and Diversity”. World Mental Health Day was started by World Federation for Mental Health in 1992. Basic aim of this day is to educate people on mental health issues and their consequences.
Family and friends play crucial role in the diagnosis and management of mental illnesses by providing proper support. But most of them have no idea on the symptoms of mental illnesses. We concentrate more on physical health but not on mental health. We can prevent most of the suicides if we have basic knowledge on the symptoms of depression and other mental disorders.
According to World Health Organization, 25% of the world population is suffering from mental illnesses. But only 40% of these cases are diagnosed and treated. 1 million annual suicides are the result of these undiagnosed or missed cases. Most common causes for these suicides are depression, dementia, anxiety and Schizophrenia.
There is a severe shortage of well qualified counselors and psychiatrists to diagnose and treat mental health disorders especially in developing countries. There is a heavy loss of work days and consequent productivity loss due to these mental illnesses.
I hope Mental Health Day will create more awareness on mental health disorders among general population.
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