Pained minds

IN Pakistan, mental healthcare is wedged between two extremes — a luxury or a stigma. Estimates cited by the federal health minister are grisly: around 24m require psychiatric support in a country where less than one therapist is available for every 500,000 people. The National Mental Health Policy, launched on Thursday, with the government promising to expand mental healthcare through primary and community-based services, is heartening news. The plan provides a common national structure, while making room for provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir to develop responses as per regional requirements. Its priorities include incorporating mental wellness into primary healthcare services, widening community-centric treatment, early detection, rehabilitation, and more. The need for determined implementation of this framework cannot be overstated. The prevalence of mental despair and the absence of treatment have contributed to the burden of years 'lived with disability', and inflicted profound economic damage. In fraught times, anxiety, depression among the young, suicides and substance abuse surge at an alarming rate. Climate change and digital settings further diminish mental health resilience. The stigma associated with this agony has added to the human toll. Pakistan cannot afford to falter now. The policy's success depends on changing regressive mindsets, and making access and provision of counsellors available at the tertiary level. Meanwhile, general practitioners should be aware of the importance of identifying symptoms so that patients receive timely psychiatric attention. While affordable care is crucial, there must be consequences for those who overmedicate. Mental health disorders keep children out of classrooms and leave adults without opportunities. Experts say women are twice as susceptible to being diagnosed with depression. The cost of mental illness, internalised shame, and looking away is high. Regular and open conversations about mental health remove entrenched fallacies to ensure that sufferers never become footnotes. Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2026