LAHORE, Oct 1: Mental disorders are just like other chronic physical ailments and can be treated, according to Prof I.A.K. Tareen of the Mental Health Federation of Pakistan.

He was delivering a lecture to general practitioners on “An update on depression and its management,” organized by a pharmaceutical company in connection with the World Mental Health Day at a local hotel on Saturday.

Although the global mental health day will fall on Oct 10, all relevant organizations had to decided to dedicate 10 days to the event.

Prof Tareen said mental illnesses were distress of the brain and similar to other medical illnesses where an important body organ system was not working to its capacity like congestive heart failure, liver or kidney failure.

He said mental illnesses could cause emotional distress, family problems and relationship issues, besides draining a person’s energy and limiting one’s ability to enjoy life. He said depression was more common in a society than the most frequently seen physical ailments.

Stating that there is a need to dispel myths and stigma associated with depression, he said it was treatable with success rates in excess of those of many other illnesses.

Prof Tareen said the patients of depression had greater levels of disability than those with other chronic conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, backache or hypertension.

He said psychiatric conditions accounted for almost 11 per cent of disease burden worldwide.

According to the World Health Organization, he said, by 2020 the depression would cause more disability than infectious diseases, cancer or accidents. It would be second only to ischemic heart disease as a cause of disability, he added.

Referring to the recovery process, Prof Tareen said patient’s attitude contributed a lot, besides the right kind of medicines. He advised patients to accept diagnosis and not be ashamed of their ailment, take an active role in the recovery process and not discouraged by people telling them to “snap out of it”.

He said family and friends could provide valuable support to the patients by helping them accept diagnosis and encouraging them to go to a doctor and follow the advice.

As a part of the World Mental Health Day celebrations, the King Edward Medical College’s academic department of psychiatry is organizing a function at the college auditorium on Monday (tomorrow).