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| Manoj Shinde |
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Mental illness is no myth as many claim. It is a disturbance in our sense of possession of a stable inner self that survives its personae. If this line by Camille Paglia is any indication, our society probably needs some serious introspection where the attention given to the multi-dimensional, and to this day — highly delicate — topic of mental health is concerned.
The recent horrific case of an ST driver Santosh Mane, who reportedly, in throes of a violent mental breakdown, used the weapon he had the closest and easiest access to — a State Transport bus — to plough over helpless pedestrians and commuters as well as vehicles, killing many innocent lives and in the process is not just a jolt to society, but also an eye-opener on the importance of a widespread awareness of mental health.
It has compelled people to give the grave threats posed by the negligence of mental health a serious thought. For, which part of a person’s psychological makeup could possibly influence a seemingly normal person to turn into a potential killer?
Emotional Atyachar
Andrew Denton’s definition of the much-abused word ‘stress’ is interesting. “Stress is the common cold of the psyche.” Stress seems to have victimised everybody today, right from the surgeon who works for 48 hours straight without eating to the traffic cop whose work entails manning reckless drivers amid pollution and in the worst of weather conditions.
“A person’s mental condition at work is just as important as his physical condition,” opines clinical psychologist Dr Salma Prabhu. It doesn’t take much to figure out that stress, followed by a mental setback, more often than not, takes root in the struggle to accomplish professional goals.
While we go about our work routine, we often tend to forget that somewhere beneath our seemingly strong exterior, lies an invisible entity called the psyche, which might be getting severely affected by our life’s gruelling goings-on.
In Mane’s case, reports suggest he was even undergoing treatment for his mental woes for two years which he chose to abruptly end. So the worrying part is — could a continual suppression/disregard of this very ‘stress’, lead to a violent outburst?
Prabhu explains, “We live in a stressful world, where almost everyone suffers from some or the other type of stress due to various reasons. Some also suffer from a breakdown.
But usually, such an aggressive reaction would be only from someone who is suffering from psychosis, in which case one is not only facing acute, continued stress, but his thought process is totally disturbed. If such an illness is present in a person for a long time, a trigger is sufficient to set off all the accumulated stress. In the past, there have been cases where people committed suicides.
Mane’s issue has been brought to the forefront because he went on a public rampage, but there could be possibly many more Manes among us who need urgent medical attention.”
Then again, there are many layers to the concept of stress at work. After all, the definition is subjective, the degrees differ and so does every person’s method of tackling it. The cynosure here is, if the world we live in today is indeed so stressful, are our professional lives really secured sans a healthy psychological system?
Every person’s psyche is a maze of myriad emotions, we probably could never guess who might turn into a Mane! This brings us to the key question: what cautionary measures could be brought into effect in a work organisation so as to prevent such occurrences?
Mind matters
Psychiatrist Dr Jyoti Shetty says, “When it comes to screening employees in public and private service domains related to transport and security, a neuro-psychiatric evaluation along with a physical check-up is definitely an important procedure, as these jobs are not only highly stressful, but the individual is also responsible for the safety of a large group of people.
This procedure entails going into the past and family history and assessing the person’s behaviour. Not just stopping at that, treating the psychiatric illness, if found, providing comprehensive psycho-education with respect to the treatment, its follow-up and prevention of a relapse will help in preventing such unfortunate episodes.”
However, it seems all of this is easier said than done. “It would probably be practically difficult to implement such a system for all sectors when it comes to recruiting trained, adequately paid personnel. Another contentious issue is disclosure of the illness to employers if patients are keen to keep the same confidential.
Questions could also be raised about human rights, for a mentally ill person is not incompetent. So, the call is best taken by independent organisations and their employment contracts,” Shetty maintains.
Clinical psychologist Radhika Bapat makes an important point, “Mental health is a very broad term. Rather than deeming a person unfit to work altogether, it is important to evaluate his mental status and determine which jobs are suitable for him. We have heard of cases of people like John Nash, Abraham Lincoln and Ernest Hemingway, who, despite suffering from various mental health issues, did brilliantly in their respective fields.
Therefore, diagnosis is only one part of the solution. Treatment and integration into mainstream society is just as important. Maybe, if Mane was properly diagnosed, consistently treated and given a job that suited his ability and was safe, this event could have been avoided.” Senior HR executive Aarti Gupta adds, “A mere mental check-up does not have the kind of veracity the way a physical check-up does.
It may not be able to pin-point the exact illness a person is suffering from as mental health is a very extensive term. I believe it would be more practical for a company to invest the same money in creating special counselling cells and wellness programmes, which employees could avail of to keep stress at bay.”
Of stigmas and sensitivity
When you look at the topic of mental health from all perspectives, you gain an insight into its relevance in today’s era. But if mental health is as crucial as physical health, why is it that even today, while dozens throng to the doctor’s clinic, many still shy away from seeing a counsellor? Quite regrettably, there’s no overlooking the fact that there still exists a stigma in the general public’s mind, when it comes to seeking psychological treatment.
But all hope is not lost for a change in this scenario in Shetty’s view. “Mass awareness and education, especially with regards to detecting or treating psychiatric illnesses is of utmost importance, if this stigma has to fade out.”
In Gupta’s view, “If statistics are to be believed, the number of people availing of counselling facilities has definitely gone up in the past 10 years. If friends and colleagues encourage each other to undergo therapy, then the stigma will slowly reduce.”
 It all boils down to creating a sensitive society out of the big bad world. As Radhika says, social exclusion of people suffering from mental illnesses is common and this ruthless practice needs to be done away with.
She urges, “It is erroneous to use the word ‘mentally unstable’ casually while referring to these people as this may add to the already existing stigma. Society needs to be sensitised about these minute things that might seem trivial, but could shatter a person’s self-esteem.”
All said and done, it is still an unsettling feeling, when you realise that mental health is an unpredictable, fleeting phenomenon and a subject open to interpretation.
You sense a vacuum, a feeling that even the best of explanations regarding mental ill-health are incomplete if not vague. In the end, all you can do is wait till someone finds a clear way out of these uncertainties that surround the intriguing topic that our psyche is.
 ► Mental health is a very broad term. Rather than deeming a person unfit to work altogether, it is important to evaluate his mental status as opposed to determining which jobs are suitable for him
- Radhika bapat, Clinical psychologist
 ► A mere mental check-up does not have the kind of veracity the way a physical check-up does. It may not be able to pin-point the exact illness a person is suffering from as mental health is a very extensive term
- Aarti Gupta, Senior HR executive
 ► A person’s mental condition at work is just as important as his physical condition. We live in a stressful world, where almost everyone suffers from some or the other type of stress due to various reasons
- Salma Prabhu, Clinical psychologist
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09:58:26 PM