What is Mental health?
Mental health is a component of
health which can not be seen separately from other aspects of health. As
defined by World Health organization Health being a state of complete physical,
mental and social well-being and disease absence cannot be taken as complete
health.
Mental health is a state of
well-being in which an individual in the society knows what he is capable of,
do well with routine stresses of life and work productively to the community
where he belongs.
Mental health is crucial ability
as individual of part of the community to think, feel proper emotions, relate
to one another, work well and enjoy life.
How is Mental illness Defined?
A psychological or behavioral
manifestation of impairment in brain functioning characterized by inaccurate
perception of reality, disordered thinking, social dysfunction and the
inability to cope.
What are Psychiatric emergencies?
Severe disorders of mood, thought
or behavior that require immediate attention.
How prevalent is Mental illness in Ethiopia?
Generally, there is lack of
comprehensive data concerning the epidemiological aspects of mental illness.
However, it’s believed that mental illnesses are as prevalent in low-income
countries as in the rest of the world. Different epidemiological studies have
shown that females have higher rates of mental illness than males. But some
mental illnesses like drug abuse are more prevalent in males .
Income is not well associated
with mental illnesses but less severe mental disorders are common in high
social classes and more severe mental disorders are found in low social class.
Mental illnesses are more common in those with large family size and in those
who are single rather than married. They are seen more in cities than rural
areas and the prevalence increase with the size of the city.
There is a general tendency for
mental illnesses to be more severe with increasing age.
The 1994 annual report of the
Ministry of Health of Ethiopia showed that out of the patients seen at health
institutions in one-year period, only 1.4% attended the clinics because of
mental illness.
Mental illnesses or behavioral
problems in children are given even less attention than those of adults in
Ethiopia. In a community study among children, 3 - 4% of those less than nine
year-olds, and 5 - 10% of 10 - 19 years suffered from psychiatric illnesses, even
though the incidence is increasing recently in young ages due to increased use
of substance usage.