Overview :
Mental illness is one of the most ignored health issues around the world. Not a single country in the world is spared with this disease. Every year it is taking lives of many people like a silent killer. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased mental illness among the masses in this one and half year. But now the only enemy in the world is the coronavirus. So the governments of the world is busy in defeating covid-19 pandemic. In this way mental health has been ignored by them.
Statistics of Mental illness :
Depression is the common mental disorder and one of the most fatal diseases. Globally an estimated 264 million people are affected by depression. 32% of adults have experienced depression in 2020 in the USA, but it increased to 41% in January,2021. So it is evident that the pandemic has increased the number of people affected by depression. People from all ages are affected with this disease, yet young adults are more suffered than the old ages. Around 56% adults aged 18-24 years suffers mental health disorder while 29% of adults aged above 65 years suffers mental disease.
In India the situation is more awful than the rest of the world. India being a young country the numbers are concerning . More then 65% of those aged 18-24 years suffers from depression.
What is depression or mental illness :
Depression or mental health disorder is the disturbance in a person's mind, when they feel uneasiness, sadness, confused, lack of concentration, lack of energy, sleeping disorder, stress etc. Most of the time people with mental disorder feel loneliness and keep themselves isolated socially with friends and family. But in most of the cases people don't realise that they are affected by mental disorder. Though they realise about the disease, they ignore it and don't speak to anyone about it. They don't consult with the doctors too. Thus it becomes more severe.
Causes of mental illness :
Human beings need to deal with various problems and difficult situations in life. Ups and downs is a part of our life. different situations come in our life to examine us how we can deal with the crisis. But if someone become unable to cope up with the situation he or she suffers mental illness or depression.
Our surrounding which is contaminated everywhere, makes us feel depressed. Noise pollution, air pollution, water pollution, lack of green environment create an uneasiness in human feelings.
Nowadays the lives of people became very busy. They don't have enough time to spend with themselves or with their families. Pressure of workload and business hovers over the minds of people. So ultimately they become frustrated with continuous work.
Common people or daily wage earners has some different situation. With the start of a new day they think how to arrange bread or necessary commodities for their family. So financial problems create depression in them.
The main reason behind the depression among the youths is unemployment. Lack of employment opportunity and higher competitiveness make them anxious. Failures in life depresses almost everyone.
Besides, personal relationship and problems in the family or any social problem can also create mental disorder.
Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health :
The covid-19 pandemic has made the situation more grimmer. A sharp rise in the cases of mental illness was seen since 2020, when the pandemic broke out. The pandemic affected everyone around the world. People are confined in their house for a long time. They can't go anywhere to enjoy the beauty of nature to refresh their mind, which is the best medicine for mental well-being.
The situation around the world in this pandemic with lot of positive cases, deaths, bad condition of health care system, shortage of oxygen and those scaring news which are shown whole day fill the mind with negativeness. Thus depression originates.
Many people have become jobless due to pandemic and lockdown. So lack of employment opportunity, hunger and financial crisis lead them to depression.
Children are also suffered with this. Closer of schools for more than one year has retarded their mental growth. Also they can't play nor go anywhere. So the pandemic is affecting the mental health of the children too.
But the pandemic has only increases the number, Though people around the world are struggling with mental illness prior to the pandemic.
Effect of mental illness :
Mental illness creates uneasiness , fear, anxiousness, nervousness, unhappiness and decreases enjoyment of life; creates family conflicts, relationship difficulties. People become intoxicated with drinks, tobacco or drugs. It weakens immune system and immunity power decreases. In very severe cases mental illness also lead to heart disease.
Long term depression brings in the minds of people feelings of suicide, when they can't bear with the situation any more. According to a report by the National Crime Records Bureau, India's suicide mortality rate was the highest in the world, about 381 suicides daily in 2019. In 2017, over 197 million people in India had a diagnosed mental disorder out of a population of 1.3 billion. This data shows the terribility of mental illness.
Solutions :
First of all if someone feels depressed he or she must discuss about it with their families or friends or dear ones. People must understand that challenges are part of life and we must accept the challenge and go ahead. People with mental disorder must do such things whatever they like such as listening songs, playing games, watching movies etc. And then if needed everyone should consult with psychologist. Otherwise it can be more complicated and create other health issues. Physical exercise or practicing yoga can keep us away from mental illness. So everyone should understand the importance of yoga and keep practicing everyday.
Conclusion :
Mental illness is like other normal diseases. It can be cured with proper counselling or treatment. Just we need to be more conscious and careful about mental illness. Equal importance should be given to mental health issues as we give other diseases.
1 Comments
brilliant..👌
ReplyDelete