Stigma Of Mental Health

Mental Health

WHO has recently proposed that mental health is a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community (WHO, 2001d, p.1).In this positive sense, mental health is the foundation for well-being and effective functioning for an individual and for a community.

Neither mental nor physical health can exist alone. Mental, physical and social functioning are interdependent. Furthermore, health and illness may co-exist. They are mutually exclusive only if health is defined in a restrictive way as the absence of disease (Sartorius, 1990). Recognizing health as a state of balance

The fields of mental health and public health have a long history of weak interactions, despite the possibilities for a stronger working relationship (Cooper 1990; Goldberg &Tantam, 1990; Goldstein, 1989). This relates mainly to the stigma of mental illness, and vagueness in the concepts of mental health and mental illness. The interest has grown recently for two main reasons. First, mental health is increasingly seen as fundamental to physical health and quality of life and thus needs to be addressed as an important component of improving overall health and well-being. The concept of health enunciated by WHO as encompassing physical, mental and social well-being is more and more seen as a practical issue for policy and practice. In particular, there is growing evidence to suggest interplay between mental and physical health and well-being and outcomes such as educational achievement, productivity at work, development of positive personal relationships, reduction in crime rates and decreasing harms associated with use of alcohol and drugs. It follows that promoting mental health through a focus on key determinants should not only result in lower rates of some mental disorders and improved physical health but also better educational performance, greater productivity of

After its commencement in the late 1990s, a program of population survey was initiated which came to be known as the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing further comprising three cross‑sectional surveys. The first survey in 1997 investigated the prevalence and impact of common mental disorders such as depression, anxiety and substance use disorders in adults [4]. The second survey conducted the same year focused on rare and complex psychotic disorders [5]. The two surveys concerning the adult population mental health were repeated in 2007 and 2010 [7-9]. As both the surveys were adult oriented , the third survey conducted in 1998 was focused on mental health in children and adolescent population which was repeated in 2013