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The Importance of Mental Health
January 14, 2008

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Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today's Spotlight program. I'm Liz Waid.

Voice 2
And I'm Joshua Leo. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

Voice 3
"I was twenty-eight [28], married, and a father of two lovely daughters. Then, a terrible thing happened to me."

Voice 1
Sylvester lives in Zambia. He told his story to the World Health Organization, the WHO. Sylvester seemed to be living a wonderful life. He was married and had a family. But then his wife was unfaithful - she had s__ with another man. After this, Sylvester says, he spent six years in extreme sadness.

Voice 3
"For twenty-eight [28] days, the meaning of life escaped out of me. I had plenty of self-guilt and loss of sleep. I could not eat. I grew very thin. I had thoughts of killing myself."

"By the grace of God, doctors knew what was wrong with me. I stayed in a hospital and did not commit suicide. But the hospital appeared more like a prison than a place for medical treatment."

"In my area, hospital workers left patients to lie on the ice-cold concrete. This stone-like floor was covered with human waste. We had no blankets. I lived in a very dirty place with overflowing toilets, broken doors, and torn uniforms. At times, patients were left naked."

Voice 2
Sylvester was suffering from a mental sickness. This sickness affected his body. But mostly, it affected his mind. Sylvester believes that his story is important. He believes it can help other people. Many people around the world do not understand mental health problems. People may be too afraid or feel too much shame to ask for help. And sometimes, like Sylvester, people do not get the right kind of care.

Voice 1
Mental sicknesses are real. And they can be a barrier to a good life. But, with the right care, they can be treated successfully! Good or bad mental health can influence individual people, families, and people in a wider community.

Voice 2
The WHO says that mental health is a state of well-being - feeling good. A person who is mentally healthy understands the possibilities in life. He can deal with the normal pressures of daily life. He can work well and produce results. Finally, a mentally healthy person is able to add to a community. A person cannot be fully healthy in his body unless he is mentally healthy too.

Voice 1
It is a sad fact that many people around the world do not experience mental health in these ways. The WHO says that hundreds of millions of people around the world suffer from different forms of mental sickness. For example, depression is a mental sickness that makes a person feel extreme sadness. Sylvester probably suffered from depression. A person with depression might feel as if they are worth nothing. They may lose their love for life. And they may think about killing themselves. The WHO estimates that one hundred fifty-four million [154,000,000] people around the world suffer from major depression.

Voice 2
Schizophrenia is another mental sickness. It may make a person see or hear things that do not exist. A person suffering from schizophrenia may feel that other people are out to harm her. Twenty five million [25,000,000] people worldwide suffer from this frightening sickness.

Voice 1
These are only two examples of mental sicknesses. But there are many more - Bipolar Disorder, anxieties that cause extreme fear, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. These are only a few. Mental sicknesses can affect any person. They affect women and men, young and old, rich people and poor people.

Voice 2
Do you know someone with a mental sickness? The WHO says that one out of every four families has at least one member with a mental sickness. That is a lot of people! But experts believe that many more are actually suffering from mental sicknesses. Many people do not ask for help, or even recognize that they need help.

Voice 1
People should not be afraid of mental sicknesses. A healthy person cannot get infected and become sick with a mental sickness, like a person can become infected with influenza. But many times, people look at mental sicknesses with fear. Or they feel shame because of their sickness. Sometimes even health care workers do not treat mental sickness patients with respect and love. This was true in Sylvester's case.

Voice 2
What prevents people from caring for people with mental sicknesses? Is it fear? Is it the belief that people with mental sicknesses are weak? These beliefs stop us from improving our communities.

Voice 1
People with mental sicknesses can get better! They can heal! In some cases, medicines can help. Experts believe that unbalanced chemicals in a person's brain cause mental sicknesses. The medicines can bring back the balance of brain chemicals. In other cases, talking with an experienced doctor or other health expert can help a person with mental sickness. A mental health expert can suggest methods for dealing with difficult problems.

Voice 2
Treatment for mental sickness is improving. People are just beginning to understand how these sicknesses work and how they influence people on many levels. But still, many countries do not devote enough money to mental health care.

Voice 1
That is why Dianne Froggatt works to inform communities about mental sicknesses and ways to treat them. Dianne has a son who suffers from schizophrenia. When her son began treatment, Dianne saw the influence family had. Her son enjoyed visits with his family. They cared for him.

Voice 2
Dianne is also the director of the group World Fellowship for Schizophrenia and Allied Disorders. This group helps families, so that families can help and support people with mental sicknesses. This group has already established self-help groups in twenty-five [25] countries.

Voice 1
People who are mentally sick need treatment and support. Families can provide some support. But the WHO and others believe that governments also need to know how important mental sicknesses are. Dianne agrees. She says:

Voice 4
"With every day that goes by more people develop mental sicknesses like schizophrenia. Many of them have difficulties. They will not be able to fit into society unless they receive treatment and a high level of support. They need support from their families. But they also need support from government services and non-government groups together."

Voice 1
People suffering from mental sicknesses are not just insane. Mental sicknesses are not something to be afraid of. Mental sicknesses are just another kind of disease - they can be treated. Knowing more about mental sickness can improve our own lives, our families, and our communities.

Voice 2

Email your comments or questions to radio @ english . net. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye!