Mental health needs immediate focus: Bombay Psychiatric Society

While the city seems to have got control over COVID19 cases Bombay Psychiatric Society BPS the umbrella body of psychiatrists working in Mumbai met the governor urging him to also pay attention to the rising mental health issues in the stateStating that therersquos been a surge in the past 18 months psychiatrists said there is an urgent need for the government to give priority to mental health like it has given to COVID19 tuberculosis and other illnessesldquoIt was important for us to make him aware of the rising mental health issues in the community We are seeing multifold mental health issues across the age grouprdquo said Dr Avinash De Sousa BPS presidentDuring an hourlong conversation with the governor psychiatrists briefed him on the kind of cases they are seeing in adults children senior citizens and women ldquoWe told him that these issues need to be addressed at a government level policy level He agreed and was supportive We plan to follow it up at governmental levelrdquo Dr Sousa saidDr Sousa added that there has been a 3040 per cent rise in mental health issues in the past 18 months With the advent of teleconsultation there has been a huge shift in people seeking help for mental health he added ldquoThis wasnrsquot the case prepandemic People are ready to take help of psychiatrists and it is a welcome changerdquoDr Milan Balakrishnan a member of the executive committee BPS said this was the firstofitskind open discussion on mental health issues in the corridors of power ldquoIt is a sign of mental health issues not being recognised Still there is a long way to go as in rural parts mental health continues to be associated with stigma We need to extend the awareness reach in rural parts as wellrdquo he saidlsquoAwareness initiativesrsquoHe added that the government needs to take more initiatives to spread awareness on mental health issues ldquoThe stepmotherly treatment given to mental health should stop Like other illnesses mental health also should be given priority given the number of people getting affected with it We need to strengthen the districtlevel mental health programmes The implementation of the Mental Healthcare Act has to happen We need more funds and infrastructure to deal with the rising number of mental health cases in our societyrdquo he saidDr Kersi Chavda psychiatrist P D Hinduja Hospital who was also present at the meet said depression and anxiety are the most common psychological problems he is witnessing in the pandemic ldquoCOVID19 itself is known to be changing brain structure But normally there would be a susceptibility or genetic tendency in the person that will increase the chances of getting it We are seeing a huge number of people who were basically well maintained and now landing up with more symptoms or who were more or less managing to control their anxiety or depression and now seeking medical help for the first timerdquo said Dr ChavdaDr Harish Shetty psychiatrist Dr LH Hiranandani Hospital who had written to the state task force earlier said there is a need to have a mental health task force ldquoThe impact phase of this disaster has been more than 15 months now The mental health consequences will be 100 times more than any other disasters Like we have the serosurvey we need to have a mental health survey at the earliestrdquo he added