KARACHI, June 12: The prevalence of depressive disorders is increasing among the children of Karachi, according to some doctors and psychiatrists who spoke at a seminar on Saturday.

One of the reasons for the increase is the frequent terrorist attacks taking place in Karachi, they said. The seminar was organised by the psychiatry department of Liaquat National Hospital.

They said authorities should do their best to improve the law and order situation in the province. Increasing joblessness, they said, was also fuelling the rate of depressive orders.

The parents should pay special attention to the needs of their offspring. All the children of primary-education age should be looked after well, because it is this period during which the character of a child is developed.

The speakers said the role of general practitioners and family physicians was crucial because they were in a position to understand the peculiar situation of a patient. The history of each patient should be recorded and maintained in a proper manner.

The speakers - Dr Ayesha Muqeem Qureshi, Dr Moin Ansari, Dr Ahmed Ansari, Dr Zaeema and Dr Nida Ali - said, in the last 10 years, the media had played a positive role so far as creating awareness about psychiatric disorders was concerned. However, there was lot of room for improvement.

The media should highlight that mental disorders had been stigmatised, and a person suffering from a mental disorder was often reluctant to entirely reveal his condition, the doctors said.

The media should educate the masses that most mental disorders were curable through medication, counselling and proper care, said the speakers.

One of the speakers said that according to a study, some 40 per cent of patients of a neurology department suffered from mental disorders. This showed that there was a lot of misdiagnosis.

Another doctor: "Depression can be alleviated by doing activities and enjoying all day, by relaxation exercises, getting emotional support from a family member, friend or mental health professional, talking to an understanding non-judgmental person, listening to or helping someone else, reading a funny or light book or watch a funny video, getting dressed, putting on something that makes you feel good and using whatever spiritual resources one had."