Akangjungla
In her notes on the occasion of World Mental Health Day 2022, Dévora Kestel, Director, Mental Health and Substance Use, Mental Health and Substance Use, World Health Organization emphasises that World Mental Health Day is an opportunity for us to embrace our sense of community and normalise mental health.
On the district level, the respective District Mental Health Programmes under the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) in Nagaland observed the observed the World Mental Health Day (October 10) with the theme ‘Make Mental Health & Well Being for all a Global Priority.’ The updates from the district media officers and the department concern did not differ much as they all reported that the day was observed to reiterated the definition of mental health, stress on the need to create more awareness and also promote Tele-Manas - the national toll free helpline introduce by Union Health Minister to render services with regard to mental health problems.
Over the past few weeks, a great amount of attention has been drawn to mental health issues, a topic which still remains a taboo in the Naga society. Among the many awareness activities, spearheaded by the Community Mental Health Programme (CMHP) Prodigal’s Home, an intensive ten-day awareness campaign covered place across Dimapur and Chümoukedima districts, including educational institutions, government institutions, police stations, churches and villages. It called for a deeper commitment from the communities and individuals towards strengthening mental health care inorder to meet the full spectrum of mental health needs through community-based participation.
In response to a weekly poll question in this newspaper on what measure is required to address the challenges around mental health issues in Naga society, a respondent brought to light the need to normalise mental healthcare as much as physical health. It communicated loud that there are also some misplaced priorities in terms of target audiences when it comes to awareness campaigns which are mostly centered among the young and urban settings.
One couldn’t agree more that ‘we seriously need to target the older population, religious institutions and rural areas; these are areas where all the misconceptions on mental health breed.’ To reach the point where the Naga people as a community is talking beyond just creating awareness and finding ways to dispel the myth and fighting the stigma around mental health, opportunities and upbringings have to be created to normalise the conversation around mental health issue.
As stigma and discrimination continue to be a challenge, the indifference from the community poses a greater barrier to create the safe and normal space for people affected by mental health issues to have a conversation about their experience without the fear of being judged. There is a big gap and it has to be filled collectively by building trust and listening to the voices of people who lived experience of mental health conditions. And therefore, community response to normalise mental health would be very critical to give hope and purpose to the people, especially for someone who is already dealing with lower levels of mental well-being.
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