You're not crazy!
Izelle Theunissen, MRC News
Did you know that about one in five South Africans suffer from a mental disorder severe enough to affect their lives significantly? During October
SA celebrated Mental Health Day and National Anxiety Disorders Awareness Week. The Mental Health Information Centre provides more information.
Mental disorders are real and they have a significant negative social and economic impact on South African society. Roughly 25% of all patients visiting a general practitioner are ill due to psychiatric rather than general medical conditions. Nearly 20% of high school students a year think about fatally harming themselves.
The costs to the economy are staggering. Mental disorders, especially when they are diagnosed late, cost in the region of R5 billion each year. This is apart from the human costs of individual suffering, marital disruption and family breakdown. Nevertheless, thousands of South Africans would rather die than admit they suffer from some sort of mental illness.
This is largely due to ignorance – a situation the Mental Health Information Centre (MHIC) aims to correct. The MHIC forms part of the MRC's Anxiety and Stress Disorders Research Unit and raises public awareness of mental health issues. They encourage early diagnosis of mental health problems and run a phone-in information service for the general public and the media.
"Medical researchers have gained important new insights into the causes of mental disorders and have developed new and effective treatments for these conditions. Early diagnosis and treatment can lead to rapid recovery and can substantially reduce the economic and personal costs of illness," says Ms Charmaine Hugo, who directs the
MHIC.
According to Ms Hugo, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illnesses in South Africa. Left untreated, they often lead to alcohol abuse, depression and, in severe cases, even suicide. The anxiety disorders include phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, generalised anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
"In close partnership with our sponsors, we aim to educate consumers about the anxiety disorders, to help sufferers find appropriate treatment and to help destigmatise these conditions," Ms Hugo says.
You're not alone
Do you fear insects? animals? heights? blood? injections? planes? lifts? If so, you are not alone. Phobias are extremely common. They often begin in childhood or adolescence, but many adults find that their lives are significantly impaired by phobic symptoms. Some people won't go camping for fear of spiders, or won't go to the doctor for fear of having blood drawn. Many phobias are more common in women, but some (e.g. fear of blood) are more common in men.
Scientists are learning more about the particular brain regions that are involved in phobic fears. Therapies which involve ‘exposure' to the feared situation or object (e.g. touching a spider) may be very useful. Certain non-addictive medications may also be helpful in switching phobic alarms off.
For more information on phobias, or any of the anxiety disorders, call the Mental Health Information Centre at tel.: (021) 938-9121 or fax: (021) 933-5790. Visit their web site at:
www.mentalhealthsa.co.za.
This article from the MRC News. www.mrc.ac.za
|
