Mental hygiene is equally important as personal hygiene. Extremely low government investment in mental health has been the bugbear of the country, the fact notwithstanding that mental health awareness has gained significant traction in the country in recent times. In this context, Sanjog Karki of The Himalayan Times had a tête-à-tête with Safar Pokharel, an experienced clinical psychologist and mental health practitioner as well as a veteran of mental health campaigns, as the latter shared his insights on the matters related to mental health.
Q. What is the criteria of normal and abnormal behaviour in psychology?
A. Normality and abnormality are determined by individual perception and societal norms, as well as by several factors like age, gender, situation, culture, context, and the like.
A holistic approach entails various dimensions. An individual's well-being in physical, emotional, spiritual, social, intellectual, mental, occupational and financial realms of life determines whether s/he is normal or abnormal.
For a person to be healthy, s/he needs to exhibit age and culture appropriate behaviour. Erratic behaviour (acting in a way that is harmful to oneself or others regardless of one's own best interests) and an inability to accept things the way they are can be considered an abnormal behaviour. Likewise, particular emotional responses that aren't appropriate for a given situation fall under abnormal behaviour.
Q. Are there some mental disorders that can be used for one's own advantage?
A. The term 'disorder' itself suggests an unhealthy state of mind. Individuals with depression may make an excuse for the crimes committed by them citing mental health conditions. When one talks about utilising mental disorders for one's own advantage citing various reasons, they barely focus on its negative aspects. For instance, an individual scourged by bipolar disorder encounters a series of episodes, including only depressive episodes, only manic episodes, and both depressive or manic episodes. Only highlighting the outcomes of manic episodes but completely ruling out the perils of depressive episodes is a biased opinion.
When someone talks about channelling maniac episodes into some creative related stuff such as delivering a masterpiece in arts, painting, writing or any sort of mastery in the related field, it must be relevant to context. For instance, it can be speculated that the renowned literature Laxmi Prasad Devkota might have written khandakabya during the period of one night to get his family out of financial predicament.
Q. Smartphone addiction has been the scourge of today's generation. This has paved the way for the proliferation of its dark side, exacerbating the quality of life of a large section of the society. With the surge in the number of individuals dealing with a myriad of psychological issues of late, how effective can psychotherapy be when it comes to obliterating the underlying psychological issues of those struggling with compulsive smartphone use?
A. Needless to say, smartphone addiction is the most common mental disorder at present. Moreover, the tendency of being ostentatious is rife. Take, for instance, planning for a dine out. Younger generations, and in particular girls and young women, are more concerned with taking snapshots and obsessing over making TikTok videos rather than savouring delicacies with utmost relish and enjoying quality time with their friends. Moreover, the tendency of flaunting oneself is rife. Psychotherapy can help individuals with obsessive use of smartphone. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of a few treatment approaches which provides step-by-step ways to avert compulsive behaviours. In CBT, the therapist and patient work in tandem so as to develop an understanding of the problem and arrive at a diagnosis and support treatment plans. Changes don't happen overnight. It takes time and effort to treat the underlying psychological issues associated with smartphone addiction.
Q. How affordable is psychotherapy and counselling in the context of Nepal?
A. In my opinion, an individual with a decent income can invest little money for the sake of mental health. A person who earns Rs 30,000 per month can separate at least Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 per month in order to live with a healthy state of mind.
Q. What sort of mental health policies ought to be made on the part of the government to make a positive difference in the field of mental health?
A. Charity begins at home. Having said that, a set of rules enforced in a family is only limited to a single household. A joint effort of every single individual is required if we are to make a positive impact in the field of mental health in the long run. Ordinary citizens like us don't have authority to formulate mental health-friendly plans and policies. It's the level headed persons at the policy-making levels who have the power to make mental health policies in a manner to benefit people from all walks of life. They need to invest their time, effort and mind at the policy-making level. The problem with our politicians is that they lack insight on the need to create an investment-friendly environment in the country. Basically, two types of investment - monetary and non-monetary - can be made. Moreover, policy makers ought to walk the talk rather than making extravagant claims regarding trivial matters.