Understanding Mental Illness

One aspect of mental health is mental illness. We know that mental health is not just about mental illness. It is essential to understand this aspect of mental health as people have a lot of interest and confusion with mental illness. Talking about Mental illness or mental disorder, people in Nepal have a negative attitude towards mental illness. 

In Nepal, mental illness is crazy, insane, brainless, and very insulting and wrong. Such an understanding stigmatizes mental illness in society and deprives those with mental illness of proper care and treatment and their right to a dignified life. This kind of misconception and misunderstanding is due to a lack of knowledge of the mental illness. 

Mental Illness

Mental illness involves various mental health problems that cause negative changes and effects in our emotions, behaviours and thinking. Mental illness affects a person emotionally and psychologically for a long time and reduces their personal, professional and social life. To put it more simply, mental illness involves various health conditions, like in physical illness. For example, physical illnesses have common to severe problems, such as colds, fevers, and serious illnesses such as typhoid, jaundice, pneumonia, and cancer. 

In the same way, mental illness also involves common to severe illness. When we are mentally ill, we usually experience unusual changes in our behaviour, emotions, and thinking. For example, if we could focus on our work in the past, we may not be able to do it now, or a person who usually speaks well with a friend may now be alone. 

Emotional changes can cause a person to suddenly become angry, very irritable, irritable, extremely scared, and sad. When there is a change in thinking, a person thinks that he is guilty of everything and cannot do anything, that nothing good will happen in the future, etc. Besides, physical problems are also seen when there is mental illness.

Mental problems and physical problems are interrelated. Mental problems can cause headaches, pain in different parts of the body, abdominal pain, gastric upset, insomnia, loss of appetite and other physical problems. Suppose the emotional, behavioural, and thinking changes mentioned above have been going on for a very long time, at least two weeks to a month, and are affecting our work, relationships, and daily routine. In that case, we may have a mental problem. 

The knowledge of these signs is for us to be aware and vigilant about mental problems. As soon as we see such problems, we should go for proper help and counselling. We need to see a psychiatrist or psychologists for help with mental problems. 

In Nepal, in particular, depression, anxiety disorders, suicidal ideation and self-harm, depression to pregnant and new mothers and some severe mental problems are seen. There are various causes of mental problems. The factors are as follows: 

Biological factors in which we inherit any form of long term disease or illness from our parents. A child may carry a similar nature of mental illness if their parents have a similar history to it. 

Tragic events in life such as death, accident, divorce, etc. 

Psychological factors including how we react to the situation and what we think about it. If our response is not healthy, we may have a mental problem. 

Social and cultural factors, including our relationship with people, social traditions, culture, etc. 

The combination of these factors is more responsible for mental problems than these factors alone. What we need to understand is that there is a proper treatment for mental problems. 

When it comes to treating mental problems, there are two main methods of treatment. The first method is the medical method in which medicine is used exclusively. The second method is the psychological method in which psychotherapy is used. These methods are used according to the severity of the mental problem. 

If the problems are in the early stages, the problems can be solved through psychotherapy. If the problem is severe, both medication and psychotherapy should be used.