President of the Ghana Psychological Association, Dr. Collins Agyemang has asserted that the rise in mental health illness among Ghanaians should serve as a wakeup call for all.
He made this assertion on Monday, September 25,2023 on TV3’s show, Ghana Tonight, when commenting on the statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ghana Psychological Association on the number of people battling mental health illnesses in the country.
The statistics show that about 13% of Ghanaians are living with mental health disorders. These include; anxiety, depression, bipolar, schizophrenia and eating disorders.
The Psychologist asserted that the prevailing harsh economic situation makes it imperative for Ghanaians to pay attention to their mental health.
“Certainly, it is a wakeup call for Ghana and now more than ever, given the economic conditions as well as some of the challenging moments we live in, we need to give this a careful attention,” he stated.
Dr. Agyemang further noted that the growing number of persons with mental disorders has a negative effect on the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“That particular percentage according to WHO is about 2.4 million Ghanaians, and for me that is GDP that we are losing. Imagine if all these 2.4 million Ghanaians are adults of the working class, then it tells you the effect this will be having on our community.
“Let also imagine these mental illnesses, some perhaps may be suicidal. Now we are told to every suicide death, about 135 different people around these people get affected one way or the other,” he analyzed.
Dr. Collins Agyemang cited depression as one of the common mental health disorders in the country.
“In Ghana, depression is one of the commonest that you can find. And is largely because when people go through difficult situations, when people are hit with crisis and given the limited knowledge that majority of Ghanaians have regarding the onset of crisis, a number of Ghanaians end up getting depressed. And it is usually at the advance stage that we get to know that indeed this person is getting depressed,” he added.
By Esther Nyantakyiwaa Akaba