Mental health is one of the most crucial elements of a human’s overall well-being. Its significance has increased in recent years, as more and more factors negatively impact it. The lack of awareness regarding mental health, especially in Pakistan, is one of the leading causes of suicide. cultural stigma, supernatural and religious beliefs, urban-centric services of lifestyle improvement, insufficient media representation of mental health patients, and misinterpretation of the symptoms are some leading causes of this lack of awareness.
Breaking the stigma around mental health is a tough nut to crack! The major mindset concerning mental health is that it is often associated with personal failure or weakness of religious beliefs. The widespread notion regarding depression and anxiety, especially in the rural sector of the country, is that it is a made-up thing and a strong belief system can help defeat the permanent sense of sadness a person perpetually feels. This is also the reason why mental health patients are more in abundance in the rural areas of Pakistan compared to the urban areas, where the acceptance of psychological problems is prominent. According to a report by the World Health Organization, as many as 66% of women and 25% of men deal with psychological distress.
Furthermore, there is a strong cultural stigma associated with issues/diseases connected with the brain! A person having to deal with such problems is simply tagged with the titles like ‘crazy’ or ‘mental’. He is not taken seriously and a sense of shame is connected with him. This further discourages all discussions concerning mental health problems and psychological issues.
The trend of people seeking help from religious leaders to sort issues related to mental health is also common in Pakistan. Psychological problems are often connected with the weak religious beliefs of the sufferers and they are provided with special phrases to chant that would help them deal with the issues.
With time, as these problems don’t get resolved, the patients tend to feel suffocated, leading to them considering suicide as the ultimate solution to their mental health issues.
Pakistan is one of those countries that face an acute shortage of mental health practitioners. This can also be considered as a crucial factor causing a lack of awareness/help to those suffering from mental health issues. The World Bank Data estimates that there is a mere availability of 0.19 psychiatrists per 100,000 people. On top of that, if we consider volunteering social workers, the same data claims that there are some 0.16 social workers available to help per 100,000 people. The unavailability of professionals makes it tough for mental health patients to seek specialized support and competent care.
This issue is further complicated by the urban-rural divide in mental health access.
Mental health problems are prevalent in rural areas. Professional psychologists generally prefer staying and practicing in urban areas and avoid shifting to far-flung, rural areas of the country. This leaves the underprivileged and those far from the metropolitan cities from accessing professional help.
According to Al-Jazera, the region of Thar Desert has showcased a surge in suicide arising from mental health issues. There has been a perplexing rise in such cases where the lack of awareness and professional help forced individuals to end their own lives. Some major reasons playing a major role in this include extreme poverty, lack of resources, social isolation, insufficient professional medical help, and stigma associated with the issues related to mental health. According to the reports, there were more than a hundred cases of ‘reported’ suicide cases alone in the Tharparker district in the year 2020.
Domestic violence and the inability to leave an extremely toxic relationship are also a major cause of mental health issues, leading to suicide by women. The social contract of marriage is not easy to break and the dogmatic Pakistani rural culture makes it even tougher. Lack of autonomy, unrealistic demands from the in-laws, and a cycle of emotional, verbal, and physical violence can leave invisible scars in their lives.
Resultantly, the victims of domestic abuse fall into the abyss of depression and anxiety, eventually taking their lives when they can’t find a ray of hope at the end of the tunnel!
One thing worth mentioning here is that it’s not only the underprivileged people with limited access to resources and professional help that end up having mental health issues; rather this problem is prevalent in students and corporate employees as well. Peer pressure, unrealistic goals, never-ending deadlines, and the race to be the BEST can disturb any person with a sane mind! Students and corporate employees have to deal with them daily which tends to steal away all the joy from their lives!
Suicide rates have increased as individuals struggle with the strict competition in the corporate world on a global level. Even in Pakistan, it’s on the rise! The financial pressure, inability to strike a balance between work and home, high turnover rates, and job insecurity cause distress and anxiety among corporate employees. If they don’t have access to professionals, they may end up making extreme decisions, eventually.
According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, as many as 24 million individuals in Pakistan are under the spell of mental health issues. This makes up 10% of the total population in Pakistan. This is why, it’s high time to spread awareness regarding the significance of mental health and let people know of the ways they can help themselves and others in situations like these!
SehatYab is an online platform that is playing its part in spreading awareness regarding mental health among people in Pakistan. As it is an online platform, it has a massive reach across the country. It has brought together the best psychologists from Pakistan and has assembled them in one place.
People dealing with mental health issues can connect with these professionals and get their problems solved. Be it a one-time consultation or a pro-longed therapy, SehatYab makes it easier for everyone to connect with adept psychologists. The best part about consulting with professionals through this platform is that they can keep their anonymity intact. The clients don’t need to step out of the comfort of their homes and can conveniently take therapy sessions online.
Alongside this, through its outreach programs, it is trying to create a supportive environment for mental health discussions across the country while aiming to creak the taboo associated with mental health diseases! As the consultation fee offered to the clients is quite nominal, it is increasingly becoming a preferred mode of consultation for mental health patients.