In the last couple of years there has been a demand in spreading awareness on the fact that mental health exists. More and more people seem to have begun talking about an existing problem that has been affecting the population for decades.
What is Mental Health?
Mental Health is the well being of our emotional, psychological and social state, how we think and act can be affected by our mental health. Our mental health matters at every aspect of our lives from when we are born to our childhood through adolescence to adulthood. Everything from how we perform tasks to how we socialise to how we make decisions to how we handle stress depends on our mental health.
By denying that mental health exists we are refusing to believe that we are complex beings. Rather we put ourselves in boxes and limit our ability to better understand ourselves because in all honesty, it can be a painful and tiring process.
Mishal Pakistan is a Country Partner Institute which was established in 2003. This organization has been associated with several other organizations such as Media Enterprises and Global Development agencies. They have helped them grow their communication strategies and solutions for better understanding and creating an alliance with their concerned stakeholders.
On the 10th of October Mishal Pakistan announced that they will conduct a longitudinal study to assess the state of mental health in Pakistan.
Neuropsychiatric disorders in Pakistan formulate 11.9 percent of the global diseases while only 2.62 percent of the GDP is set aside for health, the data on incidents related to '#suicide' remains unavailable.
Chief Executive Officer of Mishal Pakistan Amir Jahangir stated that ,“the research study would look into the psychological health of Pakistan to assess the impact of violence as a result of the war on terror.” He also stated that, “Mental health was one of the most ignored areas of research in Pakistan, while the nation was exposed to multiple challenges the policy makers needed the said research data for public policy design and allocation of appropriate resources.”
As a country that has more potential for findings and research regarding such significant subjects, this is a great initiative taken by Mishal Pakistan. This study will also explore the social structures and the pressure associated with discouraging people to seek professional help. Currently, Pakistan has a relatively conventional and traditionalist approach when it comes to discussing mental illnesses or behaviours related to dysfunctionality and is highly discouraging to be open about these factors.
Nadim Salim, Chief Executive Officer of Insights Research, stated that, “One of the things that motivated us to conduct the Research study is that working on mental health helps improves our communities by making it more acceptable for those suffering from mental illnesses to seek help, learn to cope, and get on the road to recovery.”
He also stated that, “In addition, mental health isn’t just about mental illnesses. It’s also about maintaining a positive state of wellbeing.”
