The Hindu : `Counselling will help farmers in distress'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 15, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

`Counselling will help farmers in distress'

By Our Staff Correspondent

MANGALORE SEPT. 14. The Head of Department of Psychiatry, NIMHANS, Bangalore, C.R. Chandrashekar, on Sunday took objection to the Government's policy of giving compensation to families of farmers who committed suicide due to various reasons in the State. Delivering a lecture on "How to improve mental health'' at the Kasturba Medical College Hospital, Attavar, he said farmers in distress should be given relief through counselling. Farmers could be resorting to the extreme measure due to emotional stress or because of the Government's decision to give compensation to their families on their death. This problem should be addressed through other methods, he added.

Referring to other suicide-related cases, he said of those who committed suicide about 25 per cent was youngsters. "Frustration can now be seen even among children. Some primary schoolchildren these days talk about committing suicide. This tendency was not there 30 years ago,'' he said.

Media criticised

Dr. Chandrashekar also took a dig at the media for always highlighting the "negative elements'' on their front pages by downplaying the "good things."

He said loneliness was the main source of distress. Competition in every walk of life and profession had increased mental stress. Shift from family-centred approach to an individual-centred one was driving many nuclear families to mental stress. Today's lifestyle had contributed to people developing mental illness.

Dr. Chandrashekar said that simple living would be a solution for many kinds of mental illness. Developing good inter-personal communication within a family, managing time and resources, adopting various good activities to relax, expressing and sharing feelings with others, challenging negative thoughts by converting such thoughts into positive ones, keeping one's ambitions in limits, managing money matters within limits would ease mental tension. He said the World Health Organisation (WHO) had defined life skills in 10 sections. They were problem solving, decision-making, critical thinking, creative thinking, effective communication, inter-personal relationship, empathy, self-awareness, management of stress and management of emotions. If these skills were managed well, one could get rid off all kinds of mental illness.

Describing Abraham Maslow's hierarchy needs — "basic, security, love and body needs", Dr. Chandrashekar said that people developed mental illness if these needs were not fulfilled. He said introspection brought about self-awareness. One should be proud of oneself and accept the real self and reality.

H.S. Ballal, Vice-Chancellor, MAHE, Raghuveer, Dean, KMC, D.P. Saraswat, Chief Operating Officer, KMC Hospital, and V.K. Bhat, Head of Department of Psychiatry, KMC Hospital, Attavar, spoke.

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