Navigating Global Mental Health Amid A Pandemic | Sushant University

1. NAVIGATING GLOBAL MENTAL HEALTH AMID A PANDEMIC One could imagine what the world would look like today, with a growing mental health crisis in India and the rest of the world. One can also have witnessed the rise of mental illness in America, Europe, and even the Middle East, hence it is important to be as inclusive as possible. Mental health has become a central concern as the world is gripped by fear of marauding viruses and the threat of a global pandemic. The media and government response to the pandemic is fueling fear among many people, especially in countries with high mental health problems. The dramatic way in which the WHO pronounced the term "pandemic" cooped with reaction of the media, which observed the development of the virus worldwide, was a hair-raising moment. While experts identified the vast majority of elderly and chronically ill people early, the millions of bodies that littered cities, followed by the deaths of millions more, has led to an anxiety-riddled existence for one and all. The question of when, if at all, life would return to a semblance of usefulness and experience for the majority of the population is at stake. The endless daily newsreels are played out in the background, rounded off by the rising numbers of the world's population, the rise in suicide rates and the decline in mental health. This is largely a reflection of the extraordinary realities we face, and not necessarily the result of a particular mental health problem. Widening inequality, continuing uncertainty about the future of the global economy, and the wave of epidemics that is yet to come will dig deeper into mental health. There should be a considerate restructuring of ​psychology programs in India​, which should cater to battling mental illness on a holistic scale. It is also important to note that unemployment, acute poverty and debt are strongly linked to poor mental health, high unemployment and high poverty rates. Moreover, the 2008 economic recession, following the collapse of the global financial system and the subsequent economic downturn, has led to increased mortality, reduced life expectancy, and higher suicide rates. Deep inequality in the world, coupled with a deeply polarized society, is a major cause of the country's high suicide rates and drug use. There are signs that the social and political climate of the world and the global health system as a whole, are seriously disrupted. But access to mental health services, facilitated by the best psychology colleges in India, including vital ongoing care, is crucial not only for the many people with upstream and downstream mental health problems, but also for those who have not been adequately treated.

2. Fortunately, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) know what to do and how to do it. We also know that the resources we invest are excellent value for money, not only for the health of our society, but also for our economy. The Global Mental Health Harvard initiative was launched in 2012 with the aim of pooling rich interdisciplinary expertise at universities and expanding knowledge through a global network of partners. The Empowering Mental Health Workforce Initiative (EMWI) at Harvard Medical School is being used to build mental health workers in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries. This allows them to learn and provide evidence-based psychosocial therapies such as psychotherapy and psychoanalytic therapy. These mental health champions have built on time-proven leadership training of recent decades by linking hands-on mentoring by experienced instructors. The programme aims to build leadership capacity through a combination of leadership training, mentoring, and hands-on experience about mental health care. They are also working to create a network of leaders, experts, lawyers, practitioners and stakeholders to advance the vision of building and improving mental health services. In the wake of the global financial crisis, mental health risks, which have been eclipsed, were averted by funding and public health interventions. Investments in mental health enable people to regain hope for the future and are a key element for a healthy life for all. There can be no better time to test the world's population for the future of mental health and its impact on the generations to come. Let us work together to realize our common mission in the face of this critical crisis, with the support of the world's most powerful institutions and the most advanced research and development organizations. OriginalSource: https://medium.com/ansal-university/navigating-global-mental-health-amid-a-pandemic-9c22984e8cb4