How important is mental health in Guyana?

May 18, 2010 Letters

Dear Editor,
What is responsible for the low mental health literacy of people in Guyana?
We are all mental beings, the universe in our skull consists not only of a brain, but also of a mind made up of mental processes that allows us to make decisions; to remember, plan, set goals and be creative.
An individual’s mind set determines their entire life.
According to humanists, our perception of the world and ourselves is more important than behavior. Everything we do and say is determined by our mental processes, which makes our mental health very important.
Many of life’s problems today are psychological, e.g. the inability to cope with stress, violence, racism, anxiety, depression, suicide etc.
It has also been determined that about 90% of sicknesses are psychologically induced.
Mental health literacy in Guyana is given little or no attention, there’s no public awareness, no development of facilities etc.
Our Mental health is much more important than it appears. It baffles me how an aspect so important is exceedingly ignored in Guyana.
Countries such as the United States of America are investing in psychology, not only because it provides employment, but also because they are aware of the benefits it provides for societies. They conduct systematic psychological research on humans as well as animals to determine cause and effects, to provide tested medication for the multiple psychological disorders occurring daily in the world, and to provide therapies; which are practical solutions for psychological issues, which most Guyanese are unaware of. Look at the schools, what do you gather from the children’s behavior? What does it say about their parents?
Yes, there is need for behavioral changes, but the authorities seem oblivious of how to begin this task.
Parents who practice domestic violence, obviously don’t know how they are affecting their children’s mental health or they just don’t care. Children who have been exposed to violence are likely to become violent at some point.
Behavior is learnt, therefore it is not permanent and can be changed.
Look around the streets. Why are those people there, and why are all categorized as mad people?
If those people had been aware of what was happening to them and got treatment and therapy, would they have been there?
Some of them had respectable jobs, high levels of education; they were teachers etc, but are now wandering souls of hopelessness in this country, because they encountered a situation that affected them mentally and it was not dealt with.
It seems as though they are becoming one of Guyana’s byproducts created by lack of knowledge.
The number just keeps multiplying. They’re roaming the streets and people don’t even recognize the danger or what they might be capable of doing.
Why wait until people get sick to treat them when you can prevent the sickness?
Let’s face it, we all encounter behavioral maladjustments at some point in time, whether it be a struggle with anger, trauma, fears, addictions to pornography, alcohol, drugs, etc or serious mental disorders such as schizophrenia, post traumatic stress disorder etc. When these abnormalities are ignored, they are left to further develop, e.g. murder due to the lack of anger management, etc.
There should be greater public awareness of these issues. The relevant authorities must provide more information on the dangers of psychological illnesses, causations and effects, treatments and therapies.
There is also a need for proper mental facilities, with adequate staff, to avoid tragedies with psychiatric patients like the recent incident in Fort Canje Berbice. There also need to be psychological clinics, outreach programmes, and open conferences addressing various mental problems by people in authority etc.
Prevention is better than cure. It’s better to have a lot of psychiatrists and psychologists than a lot of
psychotic people!
Onicak Hinds

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How important is mental health in Guyana?

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