Parents must learn to say no to children

Children should be taught early on how to cope with problems, stress and disappointment in a bid to help them sustain their mental health throughout life, the Richmond Foundation's chief executive, Doris Gauci, advised.

"Our lifestyle, expectations and the stress we are surrounded with and that we impose on ourselves have an effect on our lives and mental health."

Ms Gauci gave another piece of useful advice: "While it is good to always strive for improvement, we should not have unrealistic expectations."

A number of children are being given the impression they will be given anything they want, without having to work for it. Parents should resist the temptation to meet all their demands.

Ms Gauci said consumerism was making people lose touch with their inner selves and spirituality. "I think we are losing those values that make us human, and this is one of the things that might lead to certain types of mental health problems."

A Green Paper just published by the EU estimates that mental ill health affects every fourth citizen. Apart from the possibility of leading to personal harm, mental ill health causes significant losses and burdens to society.

A person does not have to be diagnosed with a particular illness to be suffering from mental ill health. "Everyone has hours, or days, when one's mental health is not at its best. Having a bad day is normal, but if day after day, week after week, you feel like you don't want to wake up in the morning, don't want to do anything, don't want to meet anyone and everything seems a huge effort, you might need to seek professional help."

Changes in a person's usual routine and behaviour should set the alarm bells ringing for loved ones. Many who are experiencing depression start isolating themselves and find excuses to be alone.

"Nowadays everybody is so busy we rarely have time to stop and talk to each other. The time for our social life is constantly dwindling."

When asked about the review of the mental health law, Ms Gauci said the Richmond Foundation would like to see legislation that incorporates principles that safeguard the rights of the person, including the right to freedom by creating opportunities for patients to be treated in the least restrictive ways within the community. She said mental health should be streamlined into every government policy. "If we do not take action now, the repercussions on our society in the next 20 years will be huge."

The EU's Green Paper on mental health says that...

¤ More than 27 per cent of adult Europeans are estimated to experience at least one form of mental ill health during a year.

¤ Anxiety disorders and depression are the most common forms of mental ill health in the EU.

¤ By 2020, depression is expected to be the highest ranking cause of disease in the developed world.

¤ About 58,000 citizens commit suicide annually, which is more than the annual deaths from traffic accidents, homicide or HIV and AIDS.

¤ Mental ill health costs the EU an estimated three to four per cent of its gross domestic product, mainly because of lost productivity.

According to the World Health Organisation:

¤ A total of 450 million people worldwide are affected by mental, neurological or behavioural problems at any time.

¤ About 873,000 people commit suicide annually.

¤ One in four patients visiting a health service has at least one mental, neurological or behavioural disorder, but most of these go undiagnosed and untreated.