Message from the Dominica Psychological Society World Mental Health Day 2020 calls for equality for everyone, everywhere. World Mental Health Day will be observed on October 10th and this year’s theme is, Mental Health for All – Greater Investment – Greater Access.
Mental Health is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.
Mental illness, neurological and behavioural disorders are common to all countries and cause immense suffering. People with these disorders are
often subjected to social isolation, poor quality of life and increased mortality.
One in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives. Around 450 million people currently suffer from such conditions, placing mental disorders among the leading causes of ill-health and disability worldwide.
The new realities of Covid-19 such as adapting to lifestyle changes, temporary unemployment, physical distancing, the wearing of masks, managing the fear of contracting the virus and worry about people close to us who are particularly vulnerable, are challenging for all of us. These new realities can be particularly difficult for people with mental health conditions.
Our Frontline Workers are at particularly high risk of mental ill health with the risk of burnout. We salute you and urge you to invest in your mental health given the added stress, as together we manage the Covid19 situation.
The Dominica Psychological Society calls on everyone to invest in his or her mental health. We applaud the government, civil society organizations, faith based organizations, community based organizations and other non- government organizations (NGO) for all the efforts in investing in Mental Health and we ask for even greater collaboration and investment in Mental Health from all sectors.
Some tips for investing in our Mental Health
Have a routine. Keep up with daily routines as far as possible, or make new ones.
Get up and go to bed at similar times every day.
Keep up with personal hygiene.
Eat healthy meals at regular times.
Exercise regularly.
Allocate time for working and time for resting.
Make time for doing things you enjoy.
Talk to a mental Health professional if and when necessary
Talk to family and friends, about your feelings and experiences especially with Covid-19 where we encourage physical distancing recognizing that we can maintain physical distance while remaining social connected with our loved ones via social media.
Practice relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, yoga and gentle stretching.
Maintain a healthy diet and get adequate sleep and exercise.
Know that it is ok to draw boundaries and say “No”.
Engage in Spiritual Practice
Remember, there is no health without mental health!
What is this society actually doing for mental health awareness in Dominica, a county that has been going to crisis after crisis. I only hear them at times like this with lip service. What is your contribution to making mental health screening, counselling and support available and affordable for Dominican esp the youth? Is this that kind of Association or is it a club? I am asking in good faith, if I missed something please let me know. Thanks in advance.
For 364 days of each year we ignore the mentally ill victims. In fact, many see them as a menace to society. Some even advocate that they should be locked away for the rest of their natural life. They give credence to the phrase ‘OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND’.
There must be a concerted and a sustained effort throughout the year of strong and vociferous advocacy on behalf of these frequently abused and neglected group of human beings. They deserve it.
May the blessings of our good Lord favour them.
This is a very important read, I wish that more people would follow the lead of such professionals. It is important that we educate our selves on a lot of things which includes this article. Thank you
The rapidly growing number of vagrants throughout the country is becoming alarmingly worrisome. Most of these people are ones with mental issues. We tend to ignore or cast scorn and aspersions on them.
There is a very thin line between sanity and insanity. Anyone of us can cross that line at anytime in our lives. It’s not a laughing matter as so many people seem to think. They deride and get superlative pleasure in making fun of our mentally deranged brothers and sisters.
Collectively, all of us can do much more to assist these most unfortunate people, especially the government. The government has failed the mentally ill spectacularly. Not nearly enough of the resources of the state is invested in genuine efforts to restore these suffering people back to some semblance of normalcy and productivity.