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Marital problems are contributing to rising mental health cases among women in the Bono Region, Mr. Joseph Yere, the Bono Regional Coordinator of Mental Health has said.
He therefore urged spouses to endeavour to resolve their internal problems and asked families to support relations with mental health illness to access medication.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Monday in Sunyani to commemorate the 2022 World Mental Health Day (WMHD), Mr Yere said it was untrue that mental health was linked to witchcraft, saying patients could be treated when they strictly adhered taking prescribed medication
The WMHD, which falls on October 10 annually and instituted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) is celebrated globally to bring attention to mental illness and its major effects on people’s lives worldwide.
Globally, the day is celebrated on the theme “Make Mental Health and Well-being for all a Global Priority” and its overall objective is to raise awareness of mental health issues and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health.
The Day also provides an opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health issues to talk about their work, and what more needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide.
Mr. Yere enumerated several factors, including depression, drug and substance abuse and alcoholism contributing to the surge in mental health cases in the region.
He said epilepsy and schizophrenia remained the highest cases of mental health, saying from January to June this year, the region recorded and attended 405 and 523 cases of epilepsy and schizophrenia respectively.
Mr. Yere said severe malaria among children and concoction could lead to epilepsy, while schizophrenia patients who failed to take their drugs could go ‘mad’.
He advised parents to refrain from hiding their children with suspected mental health illnesses in homes and rather seek medication for them.
