Sir: A few weeks back I attended the Centenary Gala of my school, and was excited about meeting my teachers and old school mates. I was also hoping to meet a particular friend of mine who was a year senior to me in school and with whom I had lost contact with over the years. She was known as a vivacious and amiable person so I was quite disappointed about not finding her at the event. I took her cell phone number from a mutual friend and decided to give her a call the very next day. I was shocked to hear a feeble and monotonous voice, which was very unlike my memory of her. When I inquired about her health she told me she is not feeling her usual self lately. As the conversation continued she broke down and told me she suffers from depression but feels reluctant to seek professional help due to guilt and shame. She was afraid society wouldn’t appreciate her predicament because she has a good job, decent living and a supportive family. Incidentally, this is exactly what the stigma surrounding the mental illness looks like. The patient suffers in silence as the stigma causes disconnect and isolation. People are reluctant to seek professional help for fear of being ostracized, and burden themselves with guilt and shame which only aggravates their condition. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 20 percent of the world’s population suffers from a mental disorder at some point in their lifetime. This means more than a billion people worldwide, or one out of five people from our friends and family are affected, yet few people seek proper psychiatric help. Mental illnesses include relatively well known disorders like depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. It includes intellectual disturbances like autism as well as learning disabilities such as ADHD. Addiction to alcohol and drugs also falls into the spectrum of mental illness. Although efforts are still being made to ascertain the causes of mental disorders, we now mercifully have advanced treatment options available that can help people suffering from mental illness recover and regain their normal lives. Apart from the stigma that is associated with mental illness there is also the lack of understanding and awareness of what exactly mental illness is. Mental illness is characterized by disturbances in one’s mood, thinking and behaviour over a period of time. Problems in mood can range from being morose, irritable or hopeless to being angry. Problems in thinking means that a person is incoherent, suspicious or paranoid or has ideas that make no sense. The trouble in behaviour would include sleep disturbances, isolation, odd behaviour and changes in appetite. If these conditions go on for weeks and months then a person is perceived to have a mental illness. Most people recover from mental illness contrary to the popular belief that they are incurable. All that is needed is proper treatment, supportive family and friends, encouragement, patience and keeping hope alive. On a public level we need advocacy groups to create awareness about this issue along with media support in educating and creating understanding of mental illness amongst the masses. The government needs to fund research and provide facilities and rehabilitation services by building community mental health centres. Residential facilities are also needed to support people who can’t take care of themselves and unfortunately end up on the streets, in prisons or in mental hospitals. It will also help alleviate the emotional and financial burden on the family of the afflicted individual. DR NIDA KHAN Via E-mail Published in Daily Times, May 25th 2018.