Christopher Tufton | Put brakes on mental-health stigma

“One in four people worldwide will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives. Around 450 million people currently suffer from such conditions, placing mental-health disorders among the leading causes of ill health and disability.”

These facts, as shared by the World Health Organization, have kept me up nights as I contemplate Jamaica’s situation and the need to reimagine our approach to tackling mental illness, to which none of us are immune, whether we are from ‘downtown’ or ‘uptown’, an executive or a floor cleaner.

We often cast people living with mental illness in the role of ‘the other’, leaving too many to opt out of seeking treatment or otherwise fail to stick to their treatment regimens. They do this, at least in part, to avoid the stigma of mental illness, which has had negative social and economic consequences for many.

What is more, in the process of perpetuating the stigma, society fuels the culture of silence that further impairs the individuals’ life chances.

It is against this background that, with the start of September, the Ministry of Health and Wellness is beginning the roll-out of a national media campaign on mental health dubbed ‘Speak Up, Speak Now’. We want to improve the life chances of those living with mental illness, whether it is addictive behaviours or anxiety and eating disorders, depression, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.

The campaign objectives are to raise awareness about mental illness and the ways in which people are affected, to stimulate a national conversation, and to promote behaviour change against stigma.

In short, we need to understand what we are dealing with, share our experiences, and put an end to stigma as we tackle the longstanding failure to constructively engage as a society on mental illness.

Globally, one in five young people suffers from a mental illness, even as suicide is the second- leading cause of death among 15-to 29-year-olds. In Jamaica, the 2017 Global School Health Survey tells us that 25 per cent of adolescents 13 to 17 years old reportedly considered suicide, and a similar proportion reported making a plan to commit the act. Eighteen per cent said they had actually attempted suicide.

Safeguard access to services

We have to safeguard access to care through the provision of services for those living with mental illness and through making available to others the tools to help preserve their mental health. At the ministry, we are doing this work.

As part of the campaign, we are, even now, putting the final touches on a mental-health page that will give people access to mental-health resources – from facts and figures about mental illness to mental-health clinic schedules, among other things.

We are also shortly to pilot the Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Helpline and already have in place a designated number for the 24-hour toll-free line that is to be manned by five psychologists.

Further, a cadre of mental-health professionals (mental-health officers, social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists) is being trained at the community level to complement their work. To date, we have more than 30 professionals who have completed training to boost the capacity to respond at the community and regional levels and are procuring 14 buses to aid their mobility.

In addition, we are putting together a network of responders – including police officers, firemen and private practitioners – to make appropriate interventions once a call comes in via the helpline.

All of these efforts will complement the work currently being done by our mental health team in our public health facilities, including at our child guidance clinics, as well as on the ground in communities.

Meanwhile, to succeed in our efforts, we require the public’s support. Jamaicans can start by sharing their story of mental illness with a friend or mental- health professional, in person or perhaps via social media with the #SpeakUpSpeakNow. The more we talk about mental illness, the more we are able to challenge the stereotypes and are empowered to put the brakes on stigma.

Dr Christopher Tufton is the minister of health and wellness. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.