Mental Disorder – An Ailment Crying for Empathy and Change in Perception

He is the first born of my parents. My mother took pride in his learning abilities. She always reminded us that he mastered his First Book of reading at the age of three. He was surely the scholar of our house. I have not yet come across a person who had the love for books as much as him. Be it his pocket money or a special favor from parents, it always ended up in buying books. His treasure trove just not included the regular ones, you could dig books on palmistry and astrology as well. But the love of books did not hinder his love for sports, be it cricket, tennis, or soccer.

You can call him stubborn because who decides to take up commerce after graduating in science with a distinction. That’s how he was! But sometimes, life throws challenges that we are not ready to take. And so it happened that a series of miscalculated decisions landed him where he didn’t belong. Academic success mattered to him and the world around, and a stumble weighed heavy on him. He was doing Chartered Accountancy (CA) when he noticed something was off. It was an aggressive course with little success rate. But he was sure, he would get through. Unfortunately, life had a different trajectory designed for him. The early setback shook his confidence and he felt depressed. He knew there was a problem and he volunteered to visit a psychiatrist.

Back in the 1990s, mental health issues like depression and its possible outcome were not given the relevance they get today. The psychiatrist wasn’t of much help. More than his medical knowledge, he was skeptical of a young man in his early twenties talking about feeling low and broken. Sometimes, in order to avoid the onset of panic in young patients, healthcare providers tend to downplay the issue. Whatever the strategy they employ, convincing the patient that they understand how the person feels, builds trust. Unfortunately, that did not happen for him. Searching for an answer to his problem, my brother found a book that talked about a disease that underlined symptoms he was experiencing. He was the one from whom I first heard about an illness called schizophrenia. But sadly as a family we could not find a lasting treatment for his ailment.

He heard voices that didn’t exist; he felt that someone powerful was conspiring against him. He deciphered dual meaning in plain conversations and some words agitated him beyond forbearance. It was all unfolding before our eyes and we had no clue how to comfort him. From bouts of schizophrenic attacks that engulfed him in the delusional existence, to his depressed broken self when he realized he was pulled away from normalcy, every phase added to his pain and suffering. Hyperactive stream of thoughts kept him sleep deprived and the more he could not rest the more delusional he became. The back and forth of the real and imaginary tore him down bit by bit. For all that suffering, the best treatment our limited resources could offer him were the periodic visits to the mental asylum, which harmed more than healed. While the medication did have a positive effect the insensitive treatments at the facility left him emotionally scarred and suspicious of even his dear ones. The outcome of it all: my dear brother who once loved social and political debates with his family, on the dinner table, now prefers living in solitude speaking to none but himself.

It is extremely difficult to revisit the past and be judged in the present but it is equally essential to talk about mental health that does not belong to the realm of madness but needs first and foremost the support, understanding, and care of the family, the healthcare providers, and we the society at large.

By- A sibling and a witness to the lasting trauma

Mental illness is an issue that has been long ignored and disowned. But it has existed much like any other physical ailment. Terms like melancholia and lunacy existed long before modern science could categorize it as psychosis, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, etc. The broader terminology of the early period stigmatized such patients as insane. But with medical science making headway in understanding each condition in a better way, it is time we understand the most fragile organ of our body, the brain. We tend to believe we are in charge of our body completely until it manifests otherwise. Truth is, unlike the many physical ailments where we often find a direct relation to the cause, mental illness often is harder to detect and tougher to accept. Take the case of schizophrenia. It can affect healthy adults with no prior medical history of mental and physical illness. The American Psychiatric Association defines schizophrenia as a chronic brain disorder that affects men and women fairly equally. It manifests in men, often in late teens and early 20s while in women early signs are determined in their 20s or early 30s.

The underlying factors of the disease have not yet been established but a number of reasons such as stress, troubled relationships, and environmental and genetic factors may contribute to its onset. Some of the symptoms of schizophrenia such as auditory hallucination (where the patient hears and responds to voices) and delusion (false belief bordering to paranoia) makes it more difficult to interpret due to the lack of mental health awareness. Mental issues like schizophrenia need a careful approach that involves medication, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and above all an empathetic approach towards the patients.

There is a great need to understand that brain is an organ much like any other part of the body. With billions of nerve cells performing their task endlessly, malfunctioning of these cells is not rare. According to recent studies, it is estimated that approximately 20 percent of Americans, over the age of 18, suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder. The stigma with mental health issue probably comes from the fact that we have remained largely elusive of it. Some of the common telltale signs of mental illness include unexplained sadness; reduced ability to concentrate; mood swings and withdrawal from social engagement; inability to cope with daily stress; overwhelming fear, worry or guilt; major changes in eating habits; suicidal tendencies and excessive anger, etc. Timely medical intervention coupled with family support and a positive approach can help manage and treat the problem significantly. The harder part is the understanding that most agile brains and successful individuals can experience such problems and the earlier we realize and identify the symptoms the easier it is to manage.

In India, there is an estimated 197.3 million people with mental disorders. The National Centre for Biotechnology Information in its segment, ‘Treatment of mental disorder in India’ makes an eye-opening revelation. Acknowledging the paucity of mental health facilities it states that over 80 percent of the population with mental disorder have to depend on alternative and traditional treatments that range from Ayurvedic and other traditional medication to extremely implausible options such as magical rituals. Suddenly, it seems like the wheel of time has taken us back to the dark ages. While it is a long way to go, facilities like National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) give some hope to treatment of mental disorder and a lot can be achieved individually by understanding the problems and factors initiating it.

Modern living paced by ambitious life goals often stresses our daily life beyond its capacity and leaves little time for self. Also, there is a growing concern about the impact of social media on mental health, especially of teens. While it opens avenues for children to express themselves more freely and helps them in creating a platform for socializing and sharing thoughts and emotions, there are related risks of it as well. A 2019 study of 12-15 year-olds in the US found that kids that spend over three hours a day on social media platforms are at a heightened risk of mental health problems. Another study on the impact of social media on undergraduate college students showed that the longer they used the platform, the stronger they believed that others were happier than them, which could trigger depressive thoughts. Also, sleep and mental well-being are closely associated. Activities such as greater screen time at night and delayed or irregular sleeping hours can induce sleep problems, which are especially common in patients with anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, etc.

While medication, counselling, and support of loved ones go a long way in managing mental health little positive steps on the part of individuals can also have significant impact. Eating healthy and nutritious food, keeping hydrated, talking about your feelings, meditation, consciously destressing yourself by going out, taking a walk, connecting with people and things that make you feel secure, etc., are some little changes that bring in positivity and hope. After all, life is more about the journey, rather than the destination and what if you falter a little, it should not take away the joy of taking the next step.