Mental health advances

In Guyana, mental illness is a major issue that, like in most countries, needs more resources, human and otherwise, to be brought to bear to address the problem effectively, and on Thursday, in a most welcome move, the Health Ministry, in collaboration with the Presidential Youth Advisory Council (PYAC), launched the National Mental Health Website to better document and respond to the needs of individuals across the country who seek mental health services.
“It’s such a serious undertaking when people come to us at their most vulnerable moments, and we need to make sure that the ways that we are responding would be the most appropriate ways,” Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony stated during the launch.
Indeed, this is the crux of the battle to protect citizens’ mental health: how do we respond in the most appropriate manner? The answer to that question and many others surrounding mental health can only be informed by data on what people are experiencing. Thus, the website, which has been months in the making, would be a potent tool in Guyana’s mental health arsenal.
The website provides users with important terms associated with mental health, as well as allows them to learn the signs of mental health illnesses in children, adolescents and adults; view testimonials from individuals who share their own mental health journey, and those who address the stigma surrounding mental health.
One of the highlights of the site, the PYAC representatives explained, is the live chat element which allows persons to message a support agent at any time and request assistance. They are also given the option of choosing to video call the agent.
This project has been one in which President Dr Irfaan Ali has taken a personal interest, the Health Minister related, for he has recognised the importance of maintaining mental health, as Guyana has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, with an estimated 41 deaths in every 100,000 persons.
In its efforts to tackle the problem head-on, the Government has passed legislation to modernise and update our laws concerning mental health – the Suicide Prevention Act, which decriminalises suicide and provides suicide prevention services and support for survivors of suicide and persons with suicidal ideation, and the Mental Health Protection and Promotion Bill that replaced the 1930 Mental Hospital Ordinance.
“The way we practise mental health is much different from a couple decades ago, because, in those times, the easiest thing to do [was if] somebody’s got a mental health problem, to put them in an institution and lock them away,” Dr Anthony noted.
“That’s not modern practice. A lot of people might have some issues now, but with the right counselling [and] the right treatment, people can get back to their normal lives. We want to make sure that, in that period of vulnerability, we are able to help people so that they can get on back with their normal lives.”
Local statistics show that 15-20 per cent of Guyanese have a form of mental health illness – mild, severe or acute.
Depression and other mental illnesses are part of the human condition. And while their categorisation have become more precise, the treatments more advanced, the illnesses are still badly understood and their consequences often hidden. Mental illness remains if not a source of shame, then at least bewilderment to those who suffer from it and those around them. Yet it is on the increase, neurotic disorders affecting one in six adults at some point in their lives. Society, and medical science, needs a better response. The National Mental Health Website has a large role to play in that.