Experts Advocate for Increased Efforts for Mental Health

Health experts call for advocacy efforts on mental health

Islamabad—Health experts have stressed the need to step up advocacy efforts on mental health by launching anti-stigma activities and campaigns for affected people.

Addressing a seminar held here on mental health, they said that the barriers to effective care included the lack of resources, lack of trained providers, and the social stigma associated with mental disorders including depression.

They said that the depression is a common mental disorder that presents with depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, low energy, and poor concentration. They said these problems can become chronic or recurrent and lead to substantial impairments in an individual’s ability to take care of his or her everyday responsibilities, adding, at its worst, depression can lead to suicide, a tragic fatality associated with the loss of several lives every year.

According to them, depression is the leading cause of disability and the leading contributor to the global burden of disease which occurs in persons of all genders and ages.


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