The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Call to ensure mental health of the elderly

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Thursday, Oct 11, 2007
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Call to ensure mental health of the elderly

Staff Reporter

— Photo: C. Ratheesh Kumar

New vision: Minister for Health P.K. Sreemathy inaugurating the World Mental Health Day observance in the city on Wednesday.

Thiruvananthapuram: The mental health problems among the burgeoning population of the elderly would be one of the major public health problems the State would have to face in the near future, Health Minister P.K. Sreemathy said.

Inaugurating the World Mental Health Day observance here on Wednesday, Ms. Sreemathy said that the social and family situations in Kerala had undergone drastic changes and that problems of depression and loneliness among the elderly were common in most families. But these issues were seldom addressed. The fast pace of modern life was putting a huge stress on mental health. Ms. Sreemathy said that as far as rehabilitation of the mentally ill within families were concerned, Kerala had a poor record. She suggested that psychiatrists and psychologists work together for the welfare of the mentally ill rather than as two camps.

The theme of this year’s World Mental Health Day is ‘Mental health in a changing world: the impact of culture and diversity.’ The day is being observed in the State every year since 1992, following a call by the World Federation for Mental Health and World Health Organisation.

Secretary of the State Mental Health Authority and the Head of Psychiatry, Government Medical College, D. Raju pointed out that mental health programmes should be designed in such a way that it suited the cultural background and environment of the mentally ill.

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