KARACHI, Oct 2: The first ever mental health awareness walk was held from Quaid-i-Azam’s mausoleum to the Pakistan Association for Mental Health (PAMH) on the Mental Health Day on Sunday.

It was led by Abdus Sattar Edhi, Senator Nisar Memon, Prof Naushad Shaikh, Jimmy Engineer and Bilquis Edhi.

The PAMH – organizers of the walk – also arranged a number of events including workshop and interactive sessions between health professionals and families of mentally-ill people for signifying the importance of mental health and living with retarded people.

The events are part of a series of programmes to commemorate World Mental Health Week from Oct 2 to 10.

Medical practitioners, caretakers and family members of psychiatric patients in two consecutive sessions unanimously sought due priority for mental healthcare facilities in all parts of the country.

Focus in the week will be laid on attempts to create public awareness about psychiatric ailments and need to de-stigmatize mental, emotional and psychological conditions that could be largely treated and very often could even be cured.

Psychiatrists and clinical psychologists underscored the need for close coordination and collaboration between mental health care providers and caretakers or family members of the patients to ensure steady and proper recovery of the sufferers.

It was reminded that treatment and medical intervention at times could be lengthy and could also essentially require apparent reflection of care and concern on the part of family members of patients, suffering from psychiatric ailment.

Keeping in view the fact that patients were very often unable to explain their condition and that depression was yet to be acknowledged as a health condition, it was stressed that all segments of society were needed to be sensitized about the issue.

Proper understanding about mental health issues and the fact that these could inflict any individual, of any age group and at any point of time, is a reality and must be given due consideration, the participants stressed.

Workshop participants on the theme of “Mental Health Across The Lifespan” stressed recognizing the relationship between physical and mental health and how it may be expressed at various stages of human development.

Health specialists and general practitioners noted that family physicians were the first point of contact for most people, and as such, they were in a unique position to detect psychological factors affecting physical health and psychological symptoms expressed as physical ailments.

The importance of psychiatric training for family physicians was underscored.

Prof Dr Haroon Ahmed, Dr Anver Naqvi, Dr Amanat Mohsin, Dr Muneer Hamirani, Dr Shifa Naeem, Dr Sirajuddin, Dr Naim Siddiqui, Dr Salamat Kamal, Dr Jaffar Naqvi, Dr Kaleem Butt, Dr M Shareef, Dr Kartar Lal, Dr Waris Qidwai, and Dr Comdr Shoaib were among the 32 participants.

Later, an interactive session between mental health professionals and families of mentally-ill pupils was also held with a focus on addressing issues faced by families wherein one or more members were suffering from mental illness.

The discussion highlighted factors affecting treatment of mentally ill people, including stigma for patients and their families, importance of understanding and acceptance of mental illness by family members, issue of compliance with psychiatric and psychological treatment, and the family’s role, and their expectations from their mentally ill relative.

Ideas and suggestions were offered to families to assist them in coping with the challenge of living with a mentally ill person.

The session was also attended by schoolteachers and social workers who underscored the need for religious, social and psychiatric counselling aimed at restoring the confidence of sufferers.

Stalls for raising awareness with literature in Urdu were also set up.—PPI/APP