According to her, mental disorders, including depression, are still not regarded as serious health problems in the country.
“Depression is a medical illness contributed to by an interplay of both biological factors, that is, genetic predisposition, hormones and neurotransmitters and environmental factors such as adverse life events.
“Due to lack of awareness, many people do not know that they or someone they know have depression and try to cope with it sometimes for years without the necessary help.
“Although, knowledge of existence of mental health problems is improving with education, information dissemination through the media and NGOs, the level of this awareness is still quite low. In general, psychological illnesses are not regarded as `serious’ problems.
“There is also a lot of stigma and discrimination attached to people who have psychological disorders. People usually seek help when symptoms become severe, incapacitating or embarrassing,” she said.
The consultant psychiatrist also urged the governments and relevant stakeholders to put more attention and resources, including trained staff, into developing and equipping the Primary Health Care (PHC) system.
She said that most of the detection and initial management of depressive disorders need to be at the primary healthcare centres in the rural and semi-urban communities.
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