In recent years, World Mental Health Day has been
receiving notable attention in Bangladesh.
Public and private institutions undertake programs and activities to
raise awareness about the importance of mental health and state officials
boast about placing increasing priority on the sector.
As World Mental Health Day is marked on Oct. 10, the sad reality in
Bangladesh is that mental health is one of the least discussed and most
neglected issues in the country.
One reason is that many people in this impoverished country don’t
consider mental disorders an illness but a “curse” or “burden.”
Many mental patients face social stigma, negligence, harassment and
mistreatment including beatings and being chained up due to a lack of
understanding of the problem.
This is shocking and surprising in the modern world where mental
disorders have become a common issue.
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, according to the World
Health Organization (WHO).
In Bangladesh, about 13 million people — 16 percent of adults and 18
percent of children — are victims of mental and substance abuse disorders, a
2015 WHO study found. Such disorders are responsible for about 10,000
suicides annually, and the rate is 4 percent and 6 percent respectively for
boys and girls aged 13-17.
| 
