Mentally Prepared

Recently,the team from Sanganth was in Pune to participate in a conference on clinical psychology. Patel said that the time had come for a United Nations General Assembly Session for MNS use. He along with several other researchers have published online in the January issue of PloS Medicine their views on the burden of MNS disorders.

He added that depressive disorders markedly increase the risk for NCDs such as diabetes,coronary artery disease,stroke,dementia,comorbidity of depression and NCDs complicates treatment and worsens prognosis for both. “Stigma and discrimination are frequently experienced by people with MNS disorders,showing similarities to the experience of those with stigmatised diseases like HIV,” he said.

People with MNS disorders suffer some of the worst abuses of human rights in modern times. (The term MNS is a relatively new acronym coined by the World Health Organisation to refer to the complete range of disorders of the brain and the mind for its mental health Gap Action Programme [mhGAP.) Unipolar depressive disorders,alcohol use disorders,and self-inflicted injuries rank within the top 20 leading causes of burden of disease (as measured by disability adjusted life years [DALYs) across all age groups and neuropsychiatric disorders,collectively,account for 22 per cent of DALYs for women aged 15–59 years.

Research has shown that,in addition to improving health states,the treatment of MNS disorders also improves economic well-being of the affected person. However,a number of challenges need to be addressed in a global strategy for reducing the burden of MNS disorders. These challenges include inadequate resource allocation,cultural and contextual influences on the manifestations of illness,stigma and discrimination,shifting and imprecise diagnostic systems,limited etiological evidence and limited effectiveness of interventions for the prevention and care of some conditions.