Mental Health : Let us be serious

                                                                                          

I am doubtful if the Bhutanese took mental health seriously in the past. However, at time like  this: when the   pattern of our  economy is changing, when globalization is diffusing fast into our borders, when our life style is changing, when we are bombarded with information, we must take the mental health seriously.

Time has come where number of people suffering from various mental disorders has increased over the last few years. The number of people visiting the psychiatrist in the capital has increased over the years.   The Annual Health Bulletin 2014, reports the total mental disorders of 3520 in 2013 from 3044 in 2012 in the country.

                                                                             

                                      

Photo courtesy: http://production.miningaustralia.com.au/

Anxiety, psychosis, depression and substance abuse are attributes to mental health disorders. However, whether mental disorder is caused by the consumption of alcohol and drug use( psychoactive) or if the consumption of this substance is caused by mental disorder is yet to be found.

One of the probable consequences of mental disorder is suicide.  The staggering numbers of suicide from 2010 till October 2013 is 293 cases (reported case). We saw 68 suicide cases just in this year (Zam, 2014). This is a very huge number for small nation like ours.Just few days back, we saw another two youth take their lives. 

What does this number show? It shows that something is terribly wrong somewhere. We are either overlooking or complacent about our mental well being. The suicide and suicidal attempt could be due to the ignorance of the parents to their child’s emotions, poor communication, inability of the person to cope up with depression and stress, problems amongst peers and inaccessibility to counseling services.

The increasing mental disorder in the country is the alarm to our society that we need to take mental well being very seriously. Its time where frequent dialogue and communication in the family and between friends must be revived. We must put aside our mobile phones, laptop and television for some time and sit together. Of course,  we have mails to respond, meetings to attend, urgent appointments and follow ups to be done.  Yet in our busy schedules, we should find time for our families and friends to do that little exchange of dialogues.

The government is making some intervention. The counseling facilities will be made available to all walks of life. If a person feels that he/she has mental disorders, the person must come forward to avail these services. They must talk and not hesitate to come forward to get help.

References

Ministry of Health. (2013). Annual Health Bulletin

Ministry of Health. (2014).Annual Health Bulletin

Zam, N. (2014). Bhutan Sees 68 Death By Suicide Cases So Far This Year.                                                                                                           Retrieved from www.thebhutanese.bt

Humanity Crisis

For past hundred of years; wars were fought, lives were taken in the name of religion, politics, revenge and many other unnamed reasons. Now, its another phase of this war we are fighting. 

Planes go on missing. People are kidnapped. Cities are bombarded. Families are separated. A father loses a daughter in trafficking. A son is kidnapped to become a suicide bomber. Journalist are tortured and taken as captive. Family members kill each other for money and property.Our homes are on fire. What is happening to humanity? Where are we heading to?

I switch on my television. I see crisis in country X. I get disturbed and change the channel. I see open firing on civilians in country Y on another channel. I see people in pool of blood. The children are screaming and yelling. The war  has consumed all the resources, people are going hungry.They are abandoned from their own country. The schools are captured by terrorists. The children no more go to schools. They stay locked in their homes. Yet the families are not safe in their own homes. The 'sound sleep' is a distant word. 

Where are our values?Is this the destiny of human beings? Is this ever going to end? Our leaders are debating. They are talking.Solutions are vague. Our future is in haze. In the process of our perplexity, there are more blood sheds, magnifying collisions and  heightening crisis.

As I listen and watch this,  I feel sick. I want to run away. I no more want to live in the  World of chaos.I do not want to live in the World of fear and horror. I want peace and love. As I am writing this, several hundred may be evacuated from a war zone. Number of them might have breathed last.

Does this crisis have an end ?  Will humans go extinct in war with each other? What is the purpose of a war that is taking our sound sleep and hormony?  Every night, I sleep with this disturbing questions only to wake up with news of another terror.