Media workshop on mental health held in Mangaldai

OUR CORRESPONDENT

MANGALDAI: "Rise in regular use of the new technology by children has turned out to be a new arena of conflict in the family. While young people are especially enthusiastic about new digital technologies, parents are worried about their children's fast adoption and heavy use of new technologies. Parents typically expect negative effects of excessive technology use on their children's cognitive and social development as well as on family relationships. This leads to possible mental health issues." This has been observed by Nani Saikia, a prominent NGO activist and Director of ' SATRA', a leading NGO of the State working in the mental health sector for more than twelve years.

Addressing a media workshop on the topic 'Community mental health and empowering PwDs' at the Sipajhar office of the NGO on Saturday, Saikia based on their past experiences and global studies highlighted several factors which may work as a fuel in adding some new areas of mental health issue and make the already alarming issue even more volatile in future. He further pointed out that social stigma is the major barrier for mental illness in availing the opportunity of treatment and its prognosis. He thus sought help and cooperation from the media fraternity to de-stigmatize and de- mystify mental illness in the community and make people aware of the opportunity for modern treatment to lead a normal life in the society like a patient with diabetes or hypertension .

Director Nani Saikia and Senior Programme Manager of the NGO Kamruz Haque gave a brief account on the findings of their community mental health programme covering a total of 1857 mentally ill patients across 80 villages of Sipajhar and its achievement in recovery and improvement of the condition of the patients through series of regular interventions including training to care givers, PRI members, para mental health workers, formation of disability right committee, providing livelihood assistance and others.

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