THE MAD, THE BAD AND THE SAD: THE NEW DEFINITION OF METAL HEALTH

“There are three types of madness: the mad, the sad and the bad,” an intelligent PR woman opens a conversation. I had joined her car to work and Citi FM’s Bernard Avle had been lamenting on the radio about the government's inaction as the Accra psychiatric hospital was on the brink of a shut down.She was impacted, unsurprisingly, her close relative was living with a mental condition. 
She went further to explain that the mad are those mentally ill people who even after hurting you don’t know what they have done; the bad, are those who will intentionally throw things at you and chase you just to make mischief. The sad are those whose illness is due to depression, they are naturally calm and reserved to themselves. It is in this category that her brother once belonged.

Wrong definition or ignorant classification of mental illness is not the only problem; whenever the issue of mental health comes up in the national debate, it is treated with pity, promises made and then neglected; business as usual. The Parliament of Ghana has allocated about 1% of Ghana’s GDP to mental health to be disbursed under the Ministry of Health yet the mental institutions in Ghana at a point could not feed patients or even get drugs to sedate the agitated patients.

The country still has three institutions to cater for people living with mental illness and they are all located in the coastal belt of Ghana. There are less than five psychiatrists for a population of over 25 million people, very few clinical psychologists being trained and population left to deal with the deep mental issues and excessive stress on their own.

We still have social practices that isolate group of people in Witch Camps when actually, some are suffering from clear mental illness.

Stigma remains the biggest challenge to dealing with mental illness in Ghana. ErnestLartey, a journalist with GHOne TV went out to speak with people (on the streets of Accra) we consider as mentally challenged because of the conditions they live in and found out that all those we would wrote off as ‘mad’ or social rejects were actually sound people who you could say are a little under the weather if we had been able to get rid of the stigma attached to metal heath.

In October, 2013, I attended the first Mental Health and Well-being conference inAccra as a Journalism student with the JHR (Journalist for Human Right) AUCC chapter. Little has changed since then. If anything, it would be that someone has been able to go beyond the derogatory generalization of people living with mental illness as ‘Mad’ (Abodam) to suggest further classifications.

“The bottom line is society’s perception about these people. We see them as they are mentally ill, they are useless, they are nothing. We feel like even if we allocate resource for their wellbeing, we are wasting money. They are outcasts, nobody cares about them,” said Ernest Lartey.

First October 2017 has been chosen to mark as the start of Mental Illness Awareness Week. I hope this change the perception.

So for this awareness we ought to review some of the mental illness one can suffer from

Autism

Autism spectrum disorder impacts the nervous system. It is serious developmental disorder that impairs the ability to communicate and interact. The range and severity of symptoms can vary widely. Common symptoms include difficulty with communication, difficulty with social interactions, obsessive interests and repetitive behaviours. Early recognition, as well as behavioural, educational and family therapies may reduce symptoms and support development and learning.

Clinical depression is a mental health disorder characterized by persistently depressed mood or loss of interest in activities, causing significant impairment in daily life.

Anxiety disorder

A mental health disorder characterised by feelings of worry, anxiety or fear that are strong enough to interfere with one's daily activities.

Schizophrenia: 
Schizophrenia is characterized by thoughts or experiences that seem out of touch with reality, disorganised speech or behaviour and decreased participation in daily activities. Difficulty with concentration and memory may also be present.

Treatment is usually lifelong and often involves a combination of medications, psychotherapy and coordinated speciality care services.

Bipolar disorder: a mental disorder that causes periods of elevated mood and periods of depression. There are medications to treat these conditions in patients.

Dementia: Not a specific disease, dementia is a group of conditions characterised by impairment of at least two brain functions, such as memory loss and judgement. Symptoms include forgetfulness, limited social skills and thinking abilities so impaired that it interferes with daily functioning. Medication and therapies may help manage symptoms. Some causes are reversible

Psychosis: Not a specific disease, dementia is a group of conditions characterised by impairment of at least two brain functions, such as memory loss and judgement. Symptoms include forgetfulness, limited social skills and thinking abilities so impaired that it interferes with daily functioning. Medication and therapies may help manage symptoms. Some causes are reversible

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Posttraumatic stress disorder

Alcoholism