Probably many of you will not read beyond the headline of this leader.

Seeing the words "mental health" pushes many people away. It's going to be more of the same, many will argue, as they turn the page or click on another story if they are seeing this online. The usual blah, blah, blah, you might think, of how people with mental issues should get all the necessary help. The customary call for people to do away with the stigma associated with mental health. After all, it's been known for quite a while that one in four of us has been or will be affected by mental health issues.

But it is precisely because many of you will not look beyond the headline that we need to continue writing about mental health. Because, if you are ignoring this leader as you're thinking it is just another article highlighting issues that are already known, it means that the message is not getting through. It means that people continue to disregard mental health and dismiss it as something that they do not relate to. It means that the efforts that have been made in the past few decades to eradicate the bad associations with mental health have not worked.

So we must continue to write about mental health until there will come a time when it will be considered like any other physical condition, and treated as such. We all seem to have empathy with people who have cancer, or who have other physical diseases, as we should. But not everyone seems to accept that mental health issues should be given the same attention and that people who are suffering from a mental condition also need out compassion.

This is a grave mistake, because the more we ignore mental health problems the more the people suffering from mental tribulations will feel abandoned and upset when, instead, they should be treated with the utmost consideration, kindness and sensitivity. Let us also keep in mind, now that the end-of-year festivities are looming, that people with mental issues suffer more at this time of the year.

Successive governments, with the help of the media, have afforded great energy in a bid to give a helping hand. But we are far from getting near to where we should be.

In this respect, it is positive that a new holistic approach to mental health is being spearheaded by the government. The strategy launched this week aims to tackle various facets of the situation, including prevention, integrating mental health care better within existing structures and rehabilitation.

Many of us do not realise is that the way society is evolving is unfortunately opening up new avenues through which mental health issues could creep in. People are living longer, but more elderly people are living alone and feel lonely; families live a more disruptive lifestyle, and children might feel affected because their parents or guardians do not give them enough of their time; people working abroad break them away from their familial surroundings and may be more susceptible to suffering from mental issues.

These are just generic examples. There are many other situations which may lead to mental health problems. Even the strongest among us might, one day, falter. All it can take is the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back.

And so we say thank you to those of you who have made it to the end of this leader. They should now join us in continuing to pass on the message that mental health problems cannot be swept under the carpet.