Individual’s mental health and related illnesses plus disorders in Pakistan still remain a subject that many don’t want to talk about. The pretense of ‘everything is alright’ takes over the need to indulge in this topic. But with the Coronavirus pandemic affecting people’s lives and livelihoods coupled with the rising rate of unemployment as well as inflation, people’s mental health has been gravely affected. It is this reason that has pushed many to the edge. The report of an unemployed young man dying by suicide in Karachi’s crowded Lucky One Mall is one such story that urges people to take mental health seriously. On Tuesday, the 29-year-old man jumped off the third floor of the huge shopping complex. According to reports, he leaves four children behind and had taken his life due to joblessness. It must be noted that just the past week, another unemployed father of six had taken his life. What is concerning is that these two stories – a week apart – are of men unable to make ends meet for their families.
The unemployment rate in the country has been recorded at around five percent, and the November economic report states that the inflation rate has reached 21-month high at 11.5 per cent. These are worrying figures and only expected to increase in the wake of tightening measures the IMF has asked the government to implement prior to the revival of the Fund’s $6 billion programme. While there is a dire need for the government to reduce the financial burden faced by the ordinary citizens, it is also increasingly important to hold an open discourse on mental health. The fact there are only 342 psychiatrists (WHO 2009 study) for a population of over 200 million states where the priorities lay.
The country has a disturbing shortage of mental health practitioners. Add to this the lack of knowledge on the importance of mental illnesses and disorders. But despite that it had been reported that around 50 million people in the country suffer from different mental disorders. This clearly implies that this number is gravely understated. It is then upon the government and the society to advocate for mental health. While there are helplines that exist to help those suffering, they need to be publicized. Mental health illnesses are not life threatening but the silence over it is taking lives.
