By Elizabeth Larkwor Baah
Tema, May 24, GNA – The Psychiatric Unit of the Tema General Hospital has embarked on a sensitisation programme to educate residents in Tema on mental health-related issues in the country as part of the Purple Month awareness creation.
Health personnel from the unit visited shops, homes, and local food joints in Tema communities 11, and nine and their environs, to interact with residents on the need to provide support to friends and relatives who might have some mental health issues by creating a safe and conducive environment for them to seek assistance.
The Mental Health Authority of Ghana, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and other stakeholders, designated the month of May as ‘Purple Month’ dedicated to promoting mental health awareness.
Ms Gertrude Etornam Lumor, the Principal Nurse Officer at the Tema General Hospital’s Psychiatric Unit, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview that highlighting mental health issues and intensifying education in the various communities were critical steps needed to champion the prevention of the illness.
Ms Lumor emphasised the need to safeguard mental health to ensure sanity in families, communities, and the nation at large, explaining that people with mental health illnesses must be treated with respect and dignity and must be provided with the care and support they need.
She urged the public and other stakeholders to join the campaign to promote mental health.
‘The stigma sometimes comes from the home, when the person is not allowed to access certain things within the home; for example, when they have the condition, their opinions are not respected anymore, and even aftercare, they are not treated like they used to”.
“Sometimes the plate they eat from is different from what everybody eats from, and where they bathe is also different, they are not respected in the communities,” she stated.
She said contributory factors to mental disorders include biological factors, which comprise genetics, brain function, and neurotransmitters, while psychological factors are the result of psychological trauma, such as childhood trauma, emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, among others.
She added that other stresses in life, such as bereavement, divorce, and job loss, could trigger or worsen mental disorders in susceptible individuals.
Ms Lumor said other factors included environmental and socio-economic factors and urged the residents to talk to experts concerning their challenges and seek immediate treatment, adding that every government hospital has the necessary tools and resources needed to treat mental illness.
She said as community members, their role was to help people who may have mental illness by giving them information on where to access care, providing help, and bringing the person to the hospital. Calming the person down is a form of providing help.
GNA