'Cursed' mental patients face misery in Bangladesh

Many mental patients in Bangladesh face social stigma, negligence and mistreatment. (Photo by Dan Meyers/unsplash.com)

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.

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.