Mental health - exploring similar minds

Mental health problems affect people of all ages and nationalities. Dealing with mental health problems is as important as dealing with any physical health problem.

Sophie Kneebone - an Australian occupational therapist working at Sahanaya, has been here for one year. Sophie who is training Sahanaya staff points out the common and different issues with regard to mental health in Australia and in Sri Lanka.

One of the things that both countries have in common is that there is not enough money and staff in dealing with this problem; this is common even in Australia and in Sri Lanka despite the fact that in Australia there is more infrastructure to deliver services which include leisure and vocational assistance programmes for patients.

Sophie Kneebone stated that there would always be a never-ending need for resources and money to deal with this problem in any country.

There are also approximately 100 times more trained staff in Australia than there are here taking into account that both countries have almost the same population figures.

Social stigma

Another similarity is that both countries have some sort of a stigma attached to mental health problems where there is discrimination of people with mental health issues and a lack of willingness to acknowledge and discuss mental health problems.

"With Sri Lanka having less resources and money being put into the issue of mental health problems there are some positive aspects that have come out of this where this scarcity forces creativity - to harness resources in order to deliver the services needed for these patients," Kneebone explained.

She spoke of some of the plus points she has noticed in Sri Lanka as compared to Australia when it comes to dealing with mental health problems. One is that there are more volunteers here than over there. In Australia most people who work with such patients are paid for their services whereas here she finds that there are a lot more people offering voluntary services especially at Sahanaya.

"Another positive effort by Sri Lankans is that they are learning ways to express and teach about mental health problems to the public without any formal training being given to them," said Kneebone

There families are acknowledged and used as partners in care, in the absence of trained mental health workers. Here there is also a lot of close family support which is mainly due to the Sri Lankan culture, but it also does have its drawbacks where the family at times does not bring the person in at an early stage to be treated properly.

In Australia there are people with mental health problems living alone. This is because it is expected of them and also at times their families don't want to have them. There is the issue of being independent  but there are instances when these people can't cope for themselves.

However Kneebone pointed out that after a person is treated for a mental health problem here they usually find it hard to get employment or achieve a goal they have, such as making friends or working, but in Australia people who have been treated for mental health problems to some extent are able to find employment and there are organisations which help these people achieve their goals.

This problem is present in both countries but at different levels.

Some of the major mental problems common to both countries are depression, anxiety disorders and schizophrenia, which can affect a person at any age and of any sex.

It is also noted that about 1% of Sri Lankans suffer from major mental disorder and about 12.5% suffer from minor mental disorders. Some of the signs to look for in a person who may be mentally unwell are a change in behaviour, an inability to cope with day-to-day activities, excessive anxiety, prolonged apathy and depression, or even an abnormal degree of happiness.

Other signs are undue fear and suspicion, changes in sleeping and eating patterns, thinking and talking about suicide, alcohol and drug abuse. Kneebone points out that having a natural instinct that something is wrong with someone is another indication that there is a problem and the person should be talked to or taken for counselling or treatment.

Rehabilitation and treatment

The earlier a person comes in for treatment the better the prognosis. Talking about the problem will also help as some persons may only need counselling while some rehabilitation and others may need rehabilitation and even special treatment.

Educating the public will also help people in dealing with the issue of mental illhealth and they in turn will be able to help someone with a mental problem or even a family dealing with a member suffering from a mental health disorder.

Bringing someone at the early stages to be treated helps a lot as they can be treated with their family with them for support but if the patient is brought in much later when their situation is worse and they have to be hospitalised this would make the healing process mush harder. One of the problems is that the patient is brought in when the situation is bad and not at the early stages when they should have been, where they have to be hospitalised. Individual attention cannot be given at this stage and the hospital atmosphere doesn't always help in the healing process stated Kneebone.

- S.S.