The world mental health day is celebrated every year on the 10th of October to create awareness about mental illness in the masses.

The first mental health day was celebrated in 1942 and since then has been carried n with greater participation till date.

This year’s mental health day theme is – Psychological First Aid!

What is psychological first aid?
In the simplest of words it means providing psychological & social support to a person in distress.

Who all can do it?
Anyone with the right guidance can, you need not be a doctor, counselor, nurse or religious figure.

When can it be done?
1. any natural disaster – floods, droughts, terror attacks, riots.
2. any personal distress – robbery, divorce, death of a loved one, loss of job.
3. anyone suffering from violence or abuse at home or work.

Why do we need Psychological First Aid?
People do better in long term if
 They feel safe, connected to others, calm & hopeful.
 They have access to social, physical & emotional support
 They regain a sense of control by being able to help themselves.

Principles of Psychological first aid:

PREPARE – learn about
• Crisis event
• Available services & support
• Safety & security concerns
LOOK – observe for
• Safety
• People with obvious urgent basic needs
• People with serious distress reactions
LISTEN-
• Make contact with people needing support
• Ask about their needs & concerns
• Listen to them, help them feel calm.
LINK-
• Help people’s basic needs& access services
• Help people cope with problems
• Give information
• Connect people with loved ones and social support.

Mental Illness – Care giving for a person with psychiatric illness is quite different from care giving for a person with physical illness. Psychiatric illness has a multidimensional presentation extending much beyond the emotional and mental schemas. It is not just the longevity but the lack of insight and acceptance on the part of patient and family, the stigma and fear attached along with taking care of much more complex emotional needs, other direct and indirect physical needs, relatively anxiety-producing social needs amongst many other said and unsaid needs of the patient that gradually lead to caregiver burden amounting not just to stress or burnout but syndromal depression and anxiety in the caregiver itself.
The major concern though is not just the presence of such, but the total ignorance, non-acceptance, and unimportance of this significant entity. Multiple studies, both national and international have repeatedly found a higher prevalence of depression and anxiety in caregivers of persons with mental illness vis a vis caregivers of patients with physical illness. Howsoever, it has never received due importance in the management plan of patients’ illness itself. It is quite easy to fathom the relationship of caregiver depression and anxiety with the patient’s prognosis. Whether it is an overtly anxious mother spilling her anxiety onto a young psychotic daughter, or a middle-aged wife coping with her husband’s depression after a loss in business by taking care of children, family, finances whilst ignoring her own fears, anxieties, and insomnia or the parents of an aggressive, violent, drug abuser son….it is all too evident to see and feel the need for addressing these complaints of the caregivers.
Most of the time, these needs are not addressed as the caregivers themselves ignore their complaints and sweep them “under the carpet” for the need to focus on the patient without realizing that this would directly affect their caretaking abilities by making them feel irritable, anxious, weak, tired, lethargic and finally worsening the already challenging situation. At other times, the family and loved ones too ignore this by deciding to work more upon the patient than the caretaker. Sometimes, even when the caregiver does reach a psychiatrist, it is mostly about medication but the equally important task of learning adaptive coping skills, stress management, and regular counseling is not attended to. The caregivers need a significant amount of social support and understanding to tide over their difficulties.
Hence it becomes the onus of each and everyone involved, the patient, the family, the caregiver and the treating doctor to identify and address this important entity called the caregiver burden.

Understanding the Mental Health Scenario of Delhi State

Mental Health Scenario in Delhi: Delhi or Dilli as it is called fondly by its residents is known to be the heart of the country. Delhi is a leader in the field of Healthcare service providers across the nation and is known to attract residents not just from nearby states but from across the country and abroad as well. With a population of nearly 10 million which is rapidly increasing and expanding by the day, it may be estimated that one-fourth of the residents are in need of mental health care and Psychiatric Services. As is evident from the large numbers, the mental health of our city needs to be dealt with with utmost urgency and compassion. However being a large megalopolis, and one of the largest cities in the world the mental health needs of the State of Delhi are by themselves unique and need to be understood well to be able to attend to it.

Let us begin this task by gathering the factors which place Delhi uniquely in perspective of its Mental Health needs-

• Stress and the daily pressures of living in the mega polis of Delhi

• Changing lifestyles, sedentary habits, and dietary changes.

• Increasing lifestyle disorders like Diabetes, Hypertension, Thyroid disorders, Lipid abnormalities, Obesity etc. which are strongly linked to metal illness.

• Rapid urbanization and associated adversities

• Shrinking families and reduced social support leading to isolation

• Impact of westernization and changing value systems

• Pollution and detrimental effects of environmental toxins

• Economic hardships and uncertainties.

• Merging of different cultures, religions and ethnicities creating a humdrum of difficulties and conflicts.

In the metropolis of Delhi, there is a very high level of stress in everyone, be it an 8-year child, 15-year-old adolescent, a struggling adult, lonely elderly, or even a housewife, the tolls are insurmountable. Even if full-fledged mental disorders are few, milder and nonsyndromic symptoms are significantly high and grossly disturbing. Some common examples of these are irritability, restlessness, anxiety, low mood, disinterest, reduced concentration, and lack of enjoyment. Frequent headaches and Easy tiredness can also be due to psychological reasons. In spite of all of the above, the mental health need issues of the residents of the state of Delhi have not received due attention to date.

The first and foremost reason for this is the lack of awareness about mental health and significant downplaying of one’s mental health needs due to both ignorance and related stigma or better to say still – low acceptance of the same.

Another important factor is the lack of knowledge about mental health resources available to the public in the wide and big city of Delhi.

Delhi caters to a very large and diverse population and accordingly has diverse means to provide mental health care to its residents. A no. of government hospitals like IHBAS in east Delhi, lady Hardinge and Ram Manohar Lohia in central Delhi provide mental health care at minimal rates. Many hospitals like Sir Ganga Ram, BL Kapoor, Apollo Hospital provide such in the private sector. But considering the enormous population of Delhi, with its growing requirements daily, even these sometimes fall short. Herein comes the role of Private clinics, which provide wider reach, easy accessibility, higher acceptance, and hence fill in the gaps of the mental health needs of Delhi.

Delhi Mind Clinic is one such attempt to provide easily available, conveniently accessible, and quality mental health care to people in need. Our aim is to spread awareness & improve acceptance of one’s mental health needs, to use an eclectic blend of therapy and medication to optimize one’s strengths and improve the functionality by removing the distress.

Hopefully, with time, Delhi will be in a more mentally healthy state.