IT is high time society realises that mental illness is like any other body illness.
Therefore, creating awareness about mental health is necessary to ease the identification as well as early management treatment of this menace.
Early intervention will go a long way to help victims receive care and make an early recovery.
Anyone can be mentally disoriented, be it a neighbour, friend, father, mother, son, daughter or even ourselves. Mental illness requires real treatment, not just a simple desire for treatment.
Unfortunately, most people keep it to themselves due to the stigma attached to it, in addition to cultural or language barriers or lack of access to mental health facilities.
With awareness, we won't only eliminate the stigma for the people concerned, but also create new improvements for the mentally ill as well as improvements in mental health policy, research and service development.
The inclusion of mental health by the United Nations in the Sustainable Development Goals has also lent credence to the increasing acknowledgment of the importance of mental health in achieving global development goals.
The World Health Organisation said there has been a 13 per cent rise in substance use disorders and mental health conditions in the last decade, mainly due to demographic changes.
Furthermore, about 20 per cent of the world's children and adolescents have a mental health condition.
These have a substantial effect on all areas of life, including the ability to participate in the community, relationships with family and friends, and school or work performance.
People with traumatic experiences from adverse childhood events — such as abuse, being a refugee or the death of loved ones, all of which are common in disaster or post-conflict settings — are prone to developing mental health conditions.
Mental health conditions come in different forms, such as behavioural and mental health problems, like anxiety disorders (including post-traumatic stress disorder) and depression.
They also come in the form of disruptive behavioural disorders like aggressive/disruptive behaviour, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, mood disturbances, substance use and suicidal behaviour.
There is also an alarming increase in the number of young people attempting suicide in Malaysia since the beginning of the pandemic.
Globally, suicide has become the second leading cause of death, particularly among 15 to 29 year olds.
Depression mostly predates and underlies most suicidal cases, thus, making depression one of the leading causes of disability.
People with mental health conditions during adolescence and young adulthood may have a significantly negative impact on the development of safe and healthy relationships with their parents, peers, romantic partners and teachers.
Such disruptions to their ability to form and sustain interpersonal relationships can have a lasting impact on their social and emotional functioning, which would not only limit their employment opportunities but also increase the likelihood of poverty and impact work performance negatively.
Anxiety and depression cost the global economy US$1 trillion each year.
The impact of mental health conditions on the development of more than a billion youth, including their employability as well as economic and social integration, is significant.
People with mental illnesses are vulnerable and easily subjected to human rights violations, social isolation, stigma and exclusion from policies and decision-making that affect them.
Therefore, it is critical that attention is paid to global mental health with broader approaches inspired by social-inclusion and public-health considerations rather than treatment-oriented programmes in healthcare settings.
The writer is a research fellow at the Centre for Natural Products Research and Drug Discovery (Cenar), Universiti Malaya
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times
Those feeling distressed or suicidal, the Befrienders KL offers emotional support. Its 24-hour helpline can be reached at 03-7627 2929.