scholarly journals World Mental Health Day

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr. Meghamala. S. Tavaragi ◽  
Mrs. Sushma.C ◽  
Dr. Susheelkumar V. Ronad

World Mental Health Day (10 October) is a day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy. It was first celebrated in 1992 at the initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health, a global mental health organization with members and contacts in more than 150 countries. This day, each October thousands of supporters come to celebrate this annual awareness program to bring attention to Mental Illness and its major effects on peoples’ life worldwide. In some countries this day is part of the larger Mental Illness Awareness Week. Mental health is a level of psychological well-being, or an absence of a mental disorder it is the “psychological state of someone who is functioning at a satisfactory level of emotional and behavioral adjustment”. The definition of mental health highlights emotional well-being, the capacity to live a full and creative life, and the flexibility to deal with life’s inevitable challenges. A person struggling with his or her behavioral health may face stress, depression, anxiety, relationship problems, grief, addiction, ADHD or learning disabilities, mood disorders, or other psychological concerns. Counselors, therapists, life coaches, psychologists, nurse practitioners or physicians can help manage behavioral health concerns with treatments such as therapy, counseling, or medication. At the beginning of the 20th century, Clifford Beers founded the National Committee for Mental Hygiene and opened the first outpatient mental health clinic in the United States of America. The mental hygiene movement, related to the social hygiene movement, had at times been associated with advocating eugenics and sterilization of those considered too mentally deficient to be assisted into productive work and contented family life. Global mental health is the international perspective on different aspects of mental health. The overall aim of the field of global mental health is to strengthen mental health all over the world by providing information about the mental health situation in all countries, and identifying mental health care needs in order to develop cost-effective interventions to meet those specific needs.

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 259-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Minihan ◽  
B. Gavin ◽  
B. D. Kelly ◽  
F. McNicholas

Crises such as the global pandemic of COVID-19 (coronavirus) elicit a range of responses from individuals and societies adversely affecting physical and emotional well-being. This article provides an overview of factors elicited in response to COVID-19 and their impact on immunity, physical health, mental health and well-being. Certain groups, such as individuals with mental illness, are especially vulnerable, so it is important to maximise the supports available to this population and their families during the pandemic. More broadly, the World Health Organization recommends ‘Psychological First Aid’ as a useful technique that can help many people in a time of crisis.


Author(s):  
Harshitha K.S ◽  
Shankar Gautam ◽  
Ram Kishor Joshi ◽  
Ajay Kumar Sahu

Introduction: Beyond infection, the COVID-19 pandemic has also affected individuals through associated mental illnesses like anxiety and stress and has caused a collateral damage. Ayurveda has described 3 main factors which are responsible for the occurrence of diseases, one of them is Prajnaparadha, which is stated as the main cause for all the mental illness. The threefold treatment principles of Daivavyapashraya, Yuktivyapashraya and Satvavajaya targeting the Ahara, Achara and Chesta is an ideal plan to deal with stress built up in this pandemic. Materials and methods: The Ayurvedic classical textbooks and the peer reviewed articles focusing mental health researches were reviewed. This plan involves the implementation of Daivavyapashraya, Yuktivyapashaya and Satvavajaya based on the exposure and exhibition of symptoms of COVID-19. Daivavyapashraya Chikitsa is employed by Vishnusahasranama recitation/listening, Yuktivyapashraya Chikitsa is employed by the various drugs like Bramhi, Shankapushpi, Ashwagandha etc. and formulations which have psycho-neuro-immune-response, Satvavajaya Chikitsa by the process of counseling. Results and Discussion: The interdependent nature of immunity and psychological state is already well established and it decides the outcome of disorders. An immune response can be largely affected by mental well-being and mental illness can negatively affect its outcome. Conclusion: The three fold treatment plan centering the pshycho-neuro-immune action is a complete health promotive, preventive and curative plan and will certainly help in the revival of mental health in the times and after the COVID-19 pandemic.


Author(s):  
Driss Moussaoui ◽  
Vishal Bhavsar ◽  
Dinesh Bhugra

Globalization is a term used widely to describe ‘homogenization’ of the world and various cultures. Although it is to do with trade, with an impact on resources, manufacture, and consumption, its impact is often seen on economics, development, international relations, and health. However, its effect on individual and population mental health across cultures deserves detailed study. The term means different things to different people and is often misused and misinterpreted in a number of ways. The geopolitical impact of globalization on social determinants of mental health of individuals and populations is of particular interest, especially because globalization affects migration and consequent changes in well-being. Cultures vary and have various dimensions, which change in response to globalization. The challenges in the global mental health agenda are of critical interest to policymakers and service planners. Often, mental health is regarded as separate from aspects of physical health and well-being, thereby creating specific problems. In the context of globalization and resulting migration, we propose a conceptual model to understand the effects of globalization on mental health and identify some action points for future research and policy-making.


Author(s):  
Sridhar Venkatapuram

Utilitarianism is often expressed as the moral dictum, “Do that which produces the greatest good for the greatest number.” It is seemingly an attractive candidate for psychiatric ethics for two reasons. First, in the face of such overwhelming human suffering due to mental illness, doing the greatest good seems intuitively the right approach; helping more people rather than fewer seems right and rational. Second, the “good” that utilitarianism seeks to produce is often understood to be happiness or a positive mental state. Producing the greatest mental well-being possible seems in line with the functioning of psychiatry. Utilitarian ethics seems ready-made for guiding psychiatry as it faces the challenge of improving global mental health. This chapter lays out some of the history and main tenets of utilitarianism, its three main components of consequentialism, welfarism, and sum ranking, and relate them to psychiatry. Some of the major critiques of utilitarianism follow.


2021 ◽  
pp. 263207702110003
Author(s):  
Guillaume Tremblay ◽  
Nicole C. Rodrigues ◽  
Sanjiv Gulati

Every day, people struggle with mental health challenges; one in five people will experience a mental illness in their lifetime. Innovative approaches to strengthen the public mental health strategy warrant careful deliberation. This article reintroduces and explores the conceptual framework of mental hygiene. The concept of mental hygiene was originally introduced in the early 20th century, with the aim of preventing and treating mental illness and milder mental disorders. The movement lost its momentum shortly thereafter and the concept went largely ignored since then. Mental hygiene is a form of preventive maintenance that can be likened to other hygienic practices. Through the plasticity of the brain, mental training activities can foster healthy cognitive patterns that are conducive to well-being. The article offers a brief overview of some of the mental hygiene practices one can engage in, on a daily basis, to support well-being and assist in preventing mental health issues. Such mental training behaviors may potentially reduce ubiquitous human tendencies to ruminate and mind-wander without awareness, which when in excess correlate with increased activity of the default mode network and susceptibility to the pathogenesis of mental illness, along with impeding human flourishing. The article advocates for the routine engagement in healthy mental hygiene to become a global recommendation.


2000 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janice Wood Wetzel

This article is based upon the author’s presentation at the UN Third Annual World Mental Health Day, the first Day to be devoted to women and mental health. The author argues that the psychosocial conditions commonly shared by women throughout the world result in their universally high rates of mental illness and emotional distress. Solutions are global in origin, based upon a comprehensive personal, social and economic model for the prevention of mental illness and the promotion of mental health.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 169-170
Author(s):  
Brittany Drazich ◽  
Breanna Crane ◽  
Kyle Moored ◽  
Karl Shieh ◽  
Janiece Taylor ◽  
...  

Abstract Due to generational mental illness stigma and under diagnosis of mental illness, older adults do not always receive the mental health help that they need. One unique technology that has the potential to improve mood in older adults is exergames, or exercise video games. The objective of this sub-study (main study: Stimulation With Intricate Movements “SWIM” Study) was to explore older adults’ mood following an exergame intervention called “Bandit the Dolphin,” created by the Johns Hopkins KATA Studio. Researchers conducted three focus groups with 14 community-dwelling older adult participants who took part in the SWIM Study exergame intervention. The semi-structured focus groups were transcribed, coded, and analyzed using deductive and inductive techniques described by Ray Maietta’s “sort and sift, think and shift” method. Three themes related to playing “Bandit the Dolphin” and mood emerged. First, participants described their perceived association between activity and mood. Participants felt that both active and passive activities, “Bandit the Dolphin” and otherwise, improved their mood through the “fun” factor, and through feelings of achievement. Second, the participants described that the competition and frustration of playing “Bandit the Dolphin” increased eventual feelings of achievement. Third, participants described how feelings of immersion, or being absorbed in the game, helped them forget their other life concerns. These findings provide a better understanding of older adults’ perceived relationship between an exergame intervention, “Bandit the Dolphin,” and short-term improved mood. Future health and engineering researchers should explore exergames as a potential tool to improve the mental health of older adults.


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