TOPICS: Living with depression

Just after a week World Mental Health Day was observed, a maternal uncle of mine hanged himself on a rope and committed suicide.

He was under medications for depression for past two years. Sadly, those medicines couldn’t stop him from self-harming.

There are 350 million people around the world who are affected by depression. Depression is an intense and periodic form of negative emotions and thoughts such as feeling down, pessimism, guilt, anxious, etc.

Clinically, depression is categorized into various conditions on the basis of frequency, severity and duration of depressive episodes.

Many cases of depression and related mental health conditions are acute and can be easily managed with medicines, cognitive behavior therapy and complementary therapies such as yoga, meditation, acupuncture and physical exercises. However, the severe form of depression disorders must be handled with precautions because depression, at its worst, can lead to suicide.

In a country like Nepal, people with mental disorders, including depression, are discriminated for their illnesses. Most of the people mask their illness and suffer alone. It is unlikely that every patient has access to mental health services in our country.

Even if they attend before a doctor, they avoid prescribed medicines and therapies fearing what their friends and families will think about it.

Also, the role of a state cannot be neglected in the management of mental illnesses including depression. Firstly, the Ministry of Health (MoH) must prepare accurate statistics of the national level prevalence of various types of mental illness.

Second, MoH must prepare to divide a separate department of mental health in the near future.

The department will substantially play a crucial role to implement the National Health Policy 1996, provide mental health training to clinicians and health workers, build clinical capacity of the primary health care workers and form the national mental health program including the development of the district level mental health care plan for the better access of the people.

Third, MoH must integrate all mental health related telephone counseling to a single gateway coordinating with concerned hospitals, police department, telecom operators and private organizations.

This helpline should be able to provide twenty-four hours psychological counseling. Depression is not a nightmare. Nor are any forms of mental illness.