Mental depression may destroy families'

He was speaking at a function held at Paediatric Block Conference Hall of Wenlock District Hospital, in the city on Wednesday to mark World Mental Health Day. The programme was jointly organised by Department of Psychiatry, Kasturba Medical College (KMC), Wenlock District Hospital and Manaswini, Mangalore.

Mr Tunga said the everyday stresses of the modern life have seen a drastic rise in the number of people with mental problems.

Currently, around 10 per cent of the population has some form of mental disorders while 4 per cent has severe disorders, he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Dean of Department of Social Work at Roshni Nilaya Dr Rameela Shekar advised the people to build interpersonal relationships to avoid depression.

She said that the psychiatry community played an important role in promoting the mental health of individuals and preventing them from going into depression. One has to build awareness and mental health potential that will help in prevention of depression in people. Along with treatment for mental illness, one also required love and care. Even normal people require love, security and care to prevent depression, she said.

She raised concerns whether children felt loved and safe at homes or in schools, in spite of their incapabilities. “We want our children to bloom, but do we really allow them to,” she asked.

She also advised the community to remain happy and enjoy the daily occurrences in life, however small, since we tended to overlook them. She also suggested adding play along with work and creating time for oneself, as it helped stabilise one's mental health.

Principal District and Sessions Judge of Dakshina Kannada Ashok Nijagannavar said that circumstances such as extinction of joint families and rise in single parenting resulted in increase of mental depression in people. It is the duty of the society to cater to the needs of people suffering from mental disorders. Unless there is support from the society, the laws and projects for mentally ill implemented by the government will not be fruitful, he stressed.

He said that individuals suffering from stress sometimes did not opt for counselling for fear of being 'branded' as a mental patient. “Those with mental illnesses ought not to be looked as social stigma. We need to create awareness and educate the masses, so that those with mental illnesses are not looked as social stigma. The best cure we can give for these patients is love and care,” he said.

Deputy Mayor of Mangalore City Corporation Amithakala said that people are hesitant to consult or seek counsel for stress and other related disorders which affected our mental health, but this ought to change.

District Surgeon and Medical Superintendent of Wenlock Hospital Dr P Saroja presided over the function.

Associate Dean of KMC Dr Vivian D'Souza and Senior Psychiatrist Dr Arun Rao were present at the programme.