Taking care of our mental health is a priority. 

There are many factors which could affect our mental health – our lifestyle choices, unhappiness at work or in our personal lives, our environment, the rising costs of goods causing financial issues and stress - these are all factors that could have an effect.

People struggling with such issues should talk to their family or trusted friends if they are feeling overwhelmed, and if they need more professional support, should feel completely at ease with contacting a professional to talk to.

The stigma surrounding mental health issues needs to be overcome. Ian Vassallo, the Nationalist Party’s spokesman on primary health care and mental health care, had months ago told this newsroom that a new mental health hospital built near Mater Dei would send a very strong message that mental health should be treated like any other physical ailment, and such a project has been talked about for quite a while with the government even having identified a site for it. One hopes that its eventual construction will help combat the stigma. Perhaps this is one project the government should get cracking on. 

Sometimes talking to a family member or trusted friend about problems is enough to help us get different perspectives and sort out our problems, but if professional support is needed, then people requiring such help should not fear seeking it out. We need to fight the stigma surrounding mental health. 

The job of mental health care professionals is to help. 

On this note, a worrying piece of news emerged last week. A story published by The Malta Independent on Sunday revealed that Psychiatrists are seriously concerned that the list of anti-depressant medications which are available for free as part of the government’s Pharmacy of Your Choice scheme has not been updated for “decades”. Noting a worldwide trend, psychiatrist Etienne Muscat pointed out that, especially after the pandemic, there has been an increase in demand for mental health services.  “I do not believe that there has been a new anti-depressant medication added to the list in the past 10 to 20 years,” Muscat also said. Muscat said that certain anti-depressant medications are expensive. Psychiatrist Joe Cassar also raised concerns about the types of anti-depressant medications available for free to the public. He said that the medications on the government formulary are “old” medications, which generally, psychiatrists avoid prescribing due to the side effects they cause. If the medications required are not on the formulary, then the government needs to remedy this situation.

Sometimes just talking to a mental health care professional might be enough, but other times medication is needed and if it is, then shouldn’t patients have the best options?

Aside from that, there are other issues in this country which the government could work on to help create a better environment for people to live in. After all, our living situation could also affect our mental health. We really need to take a look at our surroundings and the lack of green spaces in urban areas. Going to work surrounded by buildings, barely seeing the sun and going home to the exact same situation does not exactly make people happy. We keep building up and out, taking over green space and overshadowing others without leaving any green spaces within the urban sprawl. Project Green is meant to partially help with this situation, and one hopes that it is successful in doing so.