by Vanessa Cort  
THE start of the new year brings greater concern for mental health, which has drawn increasing attention over the past decade.

Put on the “back burner” for so many years because of the stigma attached to it, mental illness is now being discussed like never before. This is in large part due to the fact that celebrities and world-famous athletes have been admitting to mental health challenges and promoting widespread debate.

Many, like tennis star Naomi Osaka and record-breaking gymnast, Simona Biles, have gone a step further and put their careers on hold, while announcing stress-related depression and anxiety. They declared themselves unable to perform until they had addressed their problems and won the support of many across the globe.

Indeed, it has been pointed out that mental illness, like its physical counterpart, can affect anyone, regardless of status, race, gender or wealth. However, while people openly admit to being physically ill and seek medical help, they often ignore or deny mental illness and so fail to seek the appropriate treatment. Feelings of shame and embarrassment cause many – men in particular – to hide their anxiety, stress or depression.

Yet, as with any illness, the sooner a mental health issue is recognised and acknowledged, the sooner it can be treated. Left alone, the condition will not disappear, as many sufferers believe, but will only get worse.

In his continuing bid to educate the general public about mental health and engage the attention of companies and organisations, Guyanese Clinical Psychotherapist, Shane Tull, last year published his timely book: “The mental health pandemic.’

Since then, he has made several presentations–both locally and abroad– and held seminars on the subject, along with his consultancy. Now the psychotherapist is reaching out to religious bodies to “address mental health awareness in Guyana.”

Tull notes: “Mental health continues to plague our communities in Guyana. It’s imperative that we recognise mental health [as being of equal importance] as physical health.”

He reminds the religious community of the biblical scripture, “brethren I wish above all things that you prosper and be of good health, even as your soul prospereth” and calls for an open discussion of mental health in this country.

His concern is echoed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) which states, “Mental and physical health are equally important components of overall health.”

An example is given of how depression increases the risk of many physical health problems such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke, while chronic conditions can increase the risk of mental illness.

The devastating effect of mental illness can be seen when persons develop chronic conditions such as post-partum depression, diagnosed in the young Guyanese mother who killed her grandmother and the thousands who each year take their own lives.

The World Health Organisation (WHO), makes that salient point: “Mental health is more than the absence of mental disorders. It exists on a complex continuum, which is experienced differently from one person to the next, with varying degrees of difficulty and distress and potentially very different social and clinical outcomes.”

The WHO also notes that throughout our lives, a host of factors can negatively impact our mental health, such as unfavourable social, economic and environmental circumstances, while our individual responses may vary widely.

An article on Global Mental Health by several writers tells us that, “About l4 per cent of the global burden of disease has been attributed to neuropsychiatric disorders, mostly due to the chronically disabling nature of depression and other common mental disorders.”

This all makes it clear that mental health is of concern to everyone and we can no longer afford to stigmatise it and its sufferers. For in so doing, we are ensuring that mental illness will persist and grow – an outcome we do not desire.