WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY

‘Mental health should be addressed at every stage of life’

Morung Express news 
Kohima | October 10

The State Mental Health Institute, Aradura Hill Kohima observed World Mental Health Day on the theme, ‘Mental Health in an Unequal World’ on October 10.

On the occasion, Principal Director for Health & Family Welfare Department Dr Neikhrielie Khimiao, opined that the society realizes the importance of mental health only when tragedy hits. With increase in population and competition in every sphere of lives, he said, mental health at every stage needs to be taken care of. 

Further, mental health issues have also been compounded with the surge of COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Principal Director said that the State Government and Health and Family Welfare Department in this line, have taken up Mental Health Programmes with paramount importance adding that improved activities would be taken up at the same time cover all the districts in the state through the District Mental Health Programme which is now in place in only six districts. 

Dr Viketuolie Pienyü, Senior Medical Officer, delivering a presentation on the theme, said scientific studies show that mental health illness cases are common among lower income families, and in Nagaland, 80-90% of the cases are from lower income families. 

Towards this, he pointed that people coming from lower economic strata have higher risk of developing mental health illness. Pienyü said economic inequality leads to social inequality which causes ‘status anxiety’ and income inequality leads to poor access to quality education which leads to social inequality. 

To reduce the crises, Pienyü said a global united response is required. At the local level, he said that local populations need encouraging NGOs, activists to intervene and help built social connections and create awareness among communities. Along with these, making free legal services accessible to the grassroots is key to achieving the goal, he added.

He also said the church plays an important role in becoming advocates of Mental Health Care noting that the church institutions does not have social discrimination and renders support to the marginalized people which directly or indirectly act as buffer against discrimination. 

Asenla Walling and Medokhrie Therie from Kohima District Legal Services Authority gave presentations. Asenla informed on the availability of free legal services to persons with mental illness under the NALSA (Legal Services to the mental ill and mentally disabled persons) Scheme, 2015 pertaining to judicial intervention and counselling or advice as such. 

According to Medokhrie, a survey conducted by the National Institute of Mental Illness and Neurosciences showed that 1 in 40 people and 1 in 20 people are suffering from past and current episodes of depression in India. 

The survey says that the lifeline prevalence of mental disorders is 13.7% a whole which would mean at least 150 million Indians are in need of urgent intervention.

Inmate Medozelhou and intern Tsuktisenla Longchar gave special presentation. Earlier, the programme was chaired by Dr Temsukong Pongener.