In a country of over 220 million people grappling with poverty, inflation, and rampant instability, mental health issues are a particularly neglected concern. Pakistan is fighting a shadow war where the burden of depressive disorders, anxiety, and trauma is escalating, yet remains untreated.
In our country and culture, mental health care is often neglected in the realm of medicine and regarded as a sign of weakness, insanity, or ‘jin ka asar.’ The answer often given is “taweez” or “booking of the mental veil”. In other words, they are wished away, gratefulness, prayer, or the simple instruction to cease “thinking” is over and done with.
The statistics in this case are a stark contrast to the public perception. WHO estimates that almost one in three Pakistanis is psychologically distressed, but less than 1%of the allocated healthcare budget is given to mental health. There is a severe lack of trained psychologists and professionals. Many educational and corporate institutions do not have mental health frameworks. There is also a surge in the number of young people killing themselves, and the lack of discourse on this topic is alarming.
The worst part is that the social stigma surrounding mental health and suicide, is a serious barrier to seeking help. These are issues that are deeply shrouded in this layer of silence. From the housewives to the students and to the factory workers and even social media influencers, the deeply problematic community living is swirling in this social phantom of silence.
It’s time to break the silence. Everyone deserves to have good mental health; it’s not a privilege. Psychological well-being is as valuable as physical health and requires
