I recently read about the global mental health movement, which aims to highlight that mental illness should be treated with the same importance as physical illness. It is evident that mental illness is prevalent in low and middle-income countries. Several factors contribute to this, including limited awareness, a scarcity of psychologists, and the prevailing belief that medical health is the sole focus of attention. Consequently, many people tend to attribute mental illness to individual shortcomings. It similar to understanding that migraines are part of normal brain behavior.
Moreover, social factors greatly influence mental illness. Each country has its own Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), leading to different categorizations of mental illness. One of the most intriguing observations is that anxiety and depression are widespread mental health conditions, yet there is a lack of awareness surrounding them. In Aceh, based on my observations, anxiety and depression are often regarded as aspects of a person's personality, which disregards the need for proper treatment.
Furthermore, there is a growing movement to separate mental health provision from general healthcare. This shift is driven by the understanding that mental health often takes a backseat to physical health, resulting in suboptimal efforts to address mental health issues. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a global movement on mental health, which aims to improve its socialization and acceptance.
Additionally, a major challenge in addressing mental health issues is the lack of accurate data from middle-income countries. Most of the available data on mental health comes from higher-income countries, which poses challenges for implementing targeted mental health policies in middle and low-income countries where the need for intervention is critical. Factors such as war, poverty, and internal displacement are prevalent in developing countries, further exacerbating the demand for mental health interventions.
It is important to continue raising awareness about mental health, promoting access to treatment, and addressing the social and economic factors that contribute to mental illness. By prioritizing mental health on a global scale and ensuring accurate data collection, we can work towards reducing the burden of mental health issues worldwide.
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