Mental illness can affect anyone at any time. Many of those who are struck with some form of affliction – be it depression, bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia or anything else – may not even be aware that they are ill.
Often, when they confide in people, they get the customary “chin up” or “you need to get out more” or just the plain old “lighten up, life is too short”.
But that is exactly the point. Sometimes it is a matter of life and death. In today’s issue, PN MP Mario Galea has given a very candid assessment of the state of care for people who suffer from mental health problems. To be frank, he is probably one of the most qualified people to do so. Mr Galea – a nurse by profession – has served as parliamentary secretary for health and perhaps most importantly, he suffers from depression.
Over 800,000 people commit suicide worldwide every year – a quarter of them succeed. Malta is not immune to this phenomenon where people just find that they cannot cope anymore and take their own life. The death of comedian Robin Williams reignited the debate and it is clear that we, as a society, need to do more to help victims.
Mr Galea states that the Crisis Intervention Team which he set up has been whittled down from eight professionals to two psychiatric nurses and a ‘part time’ psychologist.
When one considers that in 2012, a total of 1,282 people sought help from this unit, it becomes abundantly clear that it needs to be beefed up, and quickly.
The first thing that really needs to change is the way we view these issues. They are not little slumps, or little dips, they are gut-wrenching situations that can make the most jovial of people turn into social recluses that cannot even find the motivation to get to work. It is not laziness, it is a real illness that needs to be diagnosed, understood and accepted.
On the flipside, there are those with bi-polar, who when experiencing a manic episode can feel on top of the world and immune from any consequences of their behavior. Once the manic episode passes, their world comes crashing down as they fall into depression.
As mentioned earlier, there are also more severe diseases and illnesses that can go undiagnosed for years, only to emerge later in life. The case of the animals being crucified in Mosta along with an attempt to create a false drama is surely proof of the dangers of untreated patients, or those who stop taking their prescribed medication.
It is estimated that only 13% of people with mental illness do actually get treatment. But when you look at it from the opposite side of the spectrum, that translates into 87% of people who are ill go on to suffer in silence. It is our duty as a society to address that imbalance. The stresses and influences of modern life are eroding our brains’ ability to cope and mental illness has been scientifically been proven to be on the increase. We ignore these stark warnings at our own peril.