No health without mental health

10 October 2010

World Mental Health Day on 10 October raises public awareness about mental health issues. The Day promotes more open discussion of mental disorders, and investments in prevention and treatment services. The treatment gap for mental, neurological and substance use disorders is formidable especially in poor resource countries.

Physical and mental health are intertwined. There is a real need to deal with mental health problems of people with chronic physical illnesses and physical care of mental health consumers through a continued and integrated care.

On the occasion of the World Mental Health Day, WHO is launching its Mental Health Gap Intervention Guide (mhGAP-IG) this year on 7th of October which will be the inception of the implementation phase as well.

 

STIGMA is 10 x more for Women,

than it is for Men….

There is a stigma attached to mental problems in Pakistan. While the situation can be difficult for men, for women it is ten times worse.

 

In a society where females are always subjected to close scrutiny, when these illnesses make their appearance, they are abandoned by family and friends altogether.

 

Our Correspondent Mina Sohail visited the Punjab Institute of Mental Health,

where she reports about the hardships faced by women patients.

 

 

World Mental Health Day 2010: Call for Papers GLOBAL FAMILY DOCTOR World mental health day issue 2010 “Promoting well-being: mental health and physical illness” This year’s World Mental Health Day, Sunday 10th October 2010, has adopted the important theme of promoting well-being by focusing on mental health and long- term physical illness. In response to this, the October 2010 issue of Mental Health in Family Medicine is dedicated to topics surrounding mental illness and long-term physical conditions. This peer reviewed, indexed journal (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/journals/968) which focuses on mental health within the context of family medicine, primary care and the wider community provides an opportunity for you to share your research, experience and expertise to help advance well-being amongst people who suffer from co-morbid mental and physical health conditions. ‘Many people who have severe mental health problems have poorer health outcomes than the rest of the population and, people who are living with long-term physical conditions have a poorer mental health outcome. A combination of mental and physical health problems often leads to stigma, discrimination and poor access to health care for both the physical and mental health conditions. The mind and the body are connected. There is a link between mental and physical health. There can be no health without mental health and equally there can be no good physical health without mental health’ (MHFM 2008: 5 (3); 127 We invite research papers, short reports and review articles relevant to this theme including: • Well-being • Recovery, self-care and empowerment • Advocacy • Economic impact of mental health and long tem conditions • Challenges facing people with physical health and mental health problems • Mental health and physical health access to care • Effective treatment for co-morbid conditions • The roles of service users, NGOs or families • Service redesign • Intersectorial working • Social inclusion • Patient stories and narratives • International collaborations • Physical and mental health care integration By submitting your paper you agree that it will be subject to the selection and peer review process as set forth in http://www.radcliffe-oxford.com/journals/J20_Mental_Health_in_Family_Medicine/M10_Contributing.htm, which also contains the instructions for authors. All papers will be made freely available.       Dr Gabriel Ivbijaro Editor-in Chief & Chair Wonca Working Party on Mental Health Mental Health in Family Medicine 6 Linford Road Walthamstow London E17 3LA, UK    Dr Elena Berger Director, Promotion of Mental Health & Prevention of Mental Disorders World Federation for Mental Health 12940 Harbor Drive, Suite 101 Woodbridge VA 22192, USA Dr Michelle Funk Coordinator Mental Health Policy and Service Development Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse World Health Organization (WHO) 20 Avenue Appia 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland Please e-mail submissions and queries to: [email protected] Instructions for authors can be found on: www.ingentaconnect.com/content/rmp/mhfm Past issues can be found on: www.ingentaconnect.com/content/rmp/mhfm and http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/journals/968/ To download the Mental Health 2010 PDF, click here