Journalism of Courage
As World Bipolar Day is observed on March 30 to raise awareness about the illness and break the stigma surrounding mental health disorders, the government-run Maharashtra Institute of Mental Health (MIMH) at Pashan, Pune, is taking steps to prioritise family therapy as a crucial component.
The theme that is observed for this year is ‘Bipolar Strong’, which aims to unite those who are living with bipolar disorder, bringing them together to educate, empathize, and empower them.
Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition that causes episodes of mood swings which can range from extreme sadness (depression) to feeling very happy (mania). This condition can severely impact an individual’s judgment, ability to think, their behaviour, close relationships, their social life, as well as their professional life.
“There is a substantially greater lifetime prevalence of bipolar disorder, impacting 1 in 60 individuals in India, in both males and females. People have difficulty leading a normal life as most often they struggle with identifying what is happening to them. Post which, getting the right treatment is not always accessible due to lack of resources available or lack of support from the social circles. Hence, most of them suffer in silence due to the stigma and rejection from society, leading to social isolation and emotional distress,” Dr Praful Kapse, Head of Department, Psychiatric Social Work at MIMH, told The Indian Express.
The therapeutic interventions include, managing mood swings, psycho-educating the patient and their family members about the illness and effective coping strategies, developing emotional regulation and resilience, building social relationships and improving their quality of life, Dr Kapse pointed out.
According to Simran Pawar, psychiatric social worker, the interventions provided to the family members can reduce their burnout and stress, and empower them to better manage their closed one’s illness.
At MIMH, six courses are underway to create trained manpower in mental health. Monthly community outreach programmes are held at the Mann primary health centre at Hinjewadi and efforts are underway to reach out to other primary health centres (PHCs) to offer varied services such as psychosocial assessment, pharmacotherapy, individual counselling, family counselling, support groups, rehabilitation to the rural population, Dr Kapse added.
