With an overall objective of increasing awareness on mental health issues, the World Mental Health Day would be celebrated on October 10. The World Health Organization (WHO) has decided to celebrate this year with the theme 'living with Schizophrenia' to emphasize the plight of patients of this disease.
The WHO data suggests that Schizophrenia affects 26 million people and despite being a treatable disorder, more than 50 Percent people with schizophrenia cannot access adequate treatment.The data further suggests that 90 percent people with untreated schizophrenia live in the developing world.
Though there is no valid data on number of such patients in Uttarakhand the psychiatrists believe that the state has a very high prevalence of this disease. The President of Uttarakhand chapter of Indian Psychiatric Society Dr (Maj.) Nand Kishore said schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder in which the coordination between ideas and sentiments of the affected person is disturbed.
He informed that such patients behave abnormally and the worst part is that they do not realise that they are ill and need medical help.The psychiatrist say that the symptoms of the disease are sleep disturbance, appetite disturbance, unusual behavior, feelings that are inconsistent to others, talking incoherently, unusual ideas and persistent feelings of unreality.
Dr Nand Kishore said that the disease normally affects when one is between 15-25 years age group and in 2/3 patients the disease may persist for lifetime. He said that basically schizophrenia is a biological disorder which has social, genetic and physiological connotations. In a population of 1000 people the chances are there that 15 people would be affected by this disease. In context of Uttarakhand people waste too much time and money on sorcery and quacks on such patients.
Dr Nand Kishore said that the disease can be cured by medications and role of rehabilitation is of importance in treatment of such patients. The key towards rehabilitation of such patients is to remain busy in work and high level of socialisation.The role of relatives, friends, colleagues and society is of paramount importance in treatment of such patients as they help them in brining into national mainstream.