Karachi: Despite a high prevalence of mental health illnesses, the country has few psychiatric facilities and there is reluctance among patients to seek treatment, shared experts at a seminar organised at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).

Expressing concern over the status of mental health facilities in the country, Dr Jaipal Chhabria said there were less than 500 psychiatrists in the country with four to five psychiatry hospitals.

“Ninety per cent of patients do not go to psychiatrists. A study conducted in Islamabad, Peshawar and Rawalpindi found 39 per cent of people with mood disorders, 36pc with anxiety and 25pc with depression,” he said.

Prof Dr Iqbal Afridi, former dean and former head of the department of psychiatry at the JPMC, spoke about anxiety disorders, their components, types, causes and symptoms.

According to him, everybody encounters anxiety in life, but problems emerged when he/she was not able to cope with an event even after it had passed.

“It is a universal phenomenon. One needs to understand the reason behind anxiety. There is no harm in going to see mental health experts and discuss your problem because it should be handled before it triggers,” he said.

Prof Ajmal Mughal, a consultant psychiatrist, talked about mental illnesses among prisoners and what his experiences was in jails. He discussed the conditions in which prisoners lived and highlighted the importance of the need to facilitate them as per their rights.

Dr Iqbal Memon, former head of the department of paediatric department of Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi, highlighted mental illness in children and found the use of mobiles in children as the root cause of it.

He also emphasised the well-being of mothers, especially when they are pregnant. “A healthy society needs healthy mothers.”

Dr Nighat Shah, an associate professor at the Jinnah Sindh Medical University, shared her experiences of visiting the flood-affected areas.

Senator Dr Kareem Khawaja, who is chairman of the Sindh Mental Health Authority, praised the organiser for conducting the seminar. “The Sindh government has the credit of setting up the authority which is working for the betterment of society and will soon start Asia’s first mental health university,” he said.

The event was organised in collaboration with the Dr Essa Laboratory & Diagnostic Centre.

Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2022