Sobering facts

LET’S just pray. That’s the best advice I can give at this time, now that we seem immersed again in some political jitters. But let’s not waste time participating directly in the dirty game of unscrupulous politicians and
ideologues.

We’ve been had, for quite some time now. It’s time we wake up and do other constructive things. Prayer, for one, can help enlighten all of us, bringing back common sense and the desire to have a peaceful dialogue to settle whatever problems we may have.

Many other concerns and problems deserve our attention and efforts. At the moment, we have the disaster in Southern Leyte. Poverty continues to blight the lives of millions of Filipinos, and a long etcetera of problems still assail us unabated.

And recently there was another thing that forcefully grabbed my attention. This was the address given by Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan last February 11 on the occasion of the World Day of the Sick.

He reported about the world situation on the mentally-ill patients. The figures he presented are alarming. Even worse is the apathy and neglect we in general have toward the mentally-ill. We do not know yet how to handle this kind of sickness.

Do you know, for example, that at present some 450 million worldwide are affected by some neurological or behavioral mental disorders? My math tells me that’s about 8% of the world population sick of such illness.

One time I visited the psychiatric ward of a local hospital, and I was deeply moved to see the conditions of the patients who were confined and those who came for medical consultation. That visit validates the Cardinal’s figures.

Besides, it is said that 873,000 commit suicide each year. Twenty-five percent of countries do not have laws concerning mental health, 41% have no defined policy on the issue and in over 25% of health centers patients do not have access to basic psychiatric medication.

In 70% of the world population the ratio of psychiatrist to people is 1 to 100,000. These are truly sobering facts that deserve our attention and care. While there had been progress in the way we deal with mental disorders, the assistance to mentally-ill patients is still glaringly deficient.

The Cardinal said that this very pitiable condition is due to limited funding, the lack of understanding among authorities, the serious problems of the social stigma that the patients and their families have to face.

As a result, serious mental disorders are simply dealt with using bureaucratic and legal solutions without in the least taking into consideration the daily needs and the quality of life of patients and their families.

Even in wealthy countries, the care for the mentally-ill is clearly deficient. You can just imagine how it is in the poorer countries, like ours. We need to do something drastic about this.

As what to do, I just would like to transmit the suggestions of the Cardinal which I think are worth our serious consideration. He said:

- Establish, in the education systems, solid religious foundations that help one to work out clear and stable horizons, to be followed for a lifetime;
- Be aware of the system of values underpinning the whole human life and
make reference to it, especially to avoid that mental illness is lived with anxiety, sadness and desperation;
- Fight against relativism, consumerism, pseudo-culture of instinctive desires and pansexualism;
- Promote the dignity of mentally-ill patients;
- Foster a healthy development of the child, including his brain functions;
- Make awareness programs on mental illnesses for the society so that people may know about them and prevent them;
- Support these patients with the administration of sacraments where this is possible;
- Be aware of the fact that the rehabilitation of a mentally-ill patient is a duty of the whole society together, within the context of solidarity that shows preference for those who are most in need;
- Promote a social and physical environment that favors human relations and for the mentally-ill patients a sense of belonging to a concrete community.

Let’s hope our energy is poured more in these suggestions rather than in useless political maneuverings.