Mental Health: Need Of The Hour

All of us have the right to decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security, and human dignity. For persons with mental health problems, achieving this right is particularly challenging. The importance of work in enhancing the economic and social integration of people with mental health problems is highlighted in this monograph. There is growing evidence of the global impact of mental illness. Mental health problems are among the most important contributors to the burden of disease and disability worldwide. Five of the 10 leading causes of disability worldwide are mental health problems. They are as relevant in low-income countries as they are in rich ones, cutting across age, gender, and social strata. Furthermore, all predictions indicate that the future will see a dramatic increase in mental health problems.

There is growing global concern about the impact of job stress, including issues related to gender, ethnicity, sexual harassment, violence, and mobbing at work, family, and underemployment. In consultation with the individual’s physician or another mental health professional, encourage an early return to work. The longer an employee is out of work due to treatment, the more he/she will worry about losing the job. Furthermore, the longer a person is away from the job, the more mentally detached he or she will become. Coincidental with these changes, we have witnessed rapid development in the field and practice of psychosocial rehabilitation, a discipline that aims to overcome the difficulties of playing a social role and living in a social environment.