Thursday, October 3, 2013

Letter to The New Paper: MENTAL HEALTH: Complete overhaul needed


My letter on the above matter was published in The New Paper onThursday 3rd October 2013.

The report, “Face of fury unleased” (The New Paper, Sept 30) and a video of the incident are the talk of the town – for all the wrong reasons. 

The violent behaviour of the alleged attacker is bound to cause further stigmatisation of the mentally ill.

Mental illness can be difficult to manage, partly because many patients and their family members are in denial, and due to the social stigma, many do not want to seek treatment.

The support system for caregivers is also weak.

More needs to be done to ensure that mental illness is not seen as something that causes havoc.

A complete overhaul of our mental health-care system needs to be undertaken.

 

RAYMOND ANTHONY FERNANDO

 

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