Country’s eminent psychiatrist and Director of National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Dr Mohit Kamal attended the seminar as its Chief Guest, while the keynote was presented by DAM Monojotno Center Coordinator and Clinical Psychologist Md Amir Hossain.
“Mental healthcare is not only required for the psychiatric patients, it is also vital for everyone around us. We often generalize every patient as ‘mad’ when the patient seeks psychiatric help. Breaking this taboo has now became a social challenge and we must overcome it as soon as possible to reduce the rate of suicides,” Professor Dr Mohit Kamal explained in his speech.
He added- “Due to the lack of proper physical and mental education and knowledgeable, careful guidance- the ratio of suicides is rising day by day. We should open more windows around us and stop being judgmental towards the basic necessity of such education.”
The keynote paper revealed that according to the World Health Organization (WHO), almost 300 million people are suffering from depression and almost 800,000 people commit suicide every year. In 2012, the second most common cause of death among the age group 15-29 years was revealed as suicide. Among all the suicide incidents in the world, about 75% occurs in low and middle income countries, within the age group of 18-40 years. Globally, a person commits suicide every 40 seconds.
Presenter of the keynote paper Md Amir Hossain informed the audience that most of the people who committed suicide, had also been suffering from psychological illnesses. From this perspective, such illnesses might be considered as a reason behind the suicide. The tendencies and attempts of suicide are considerably higher among the females in Bangladesh, he revealed.
Welcomed by Dhaka Ahsania Mission’s Assistant Director of Health Sector Md Mukhlesur Rahman, the meeting saw the presence of Dhaka Ahsania Mission’s General Secretary Dr S M Khalilur Rahman, who chaired the event, while Dhaka University’s Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology Mr Kamal Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury and NIMH’s Associate Professor of the Community and Social Psychiatry Department Dr Farzana Rahman Dina attended the seminar as special guests.