UAE: More people seeking help for mental health issues than before

Greater awareness, successful campaigns and upskilling programmes, easy access to treatment and free counselling have resulted in affected people overcoming mental illness stigma and increasingly seeking help, a top healthcare official said in Abu Dhabi.

Leading specialities from the UAE and abroad are taking part in the third Abu Dhabi Integrated Mental Health Conference hosted by Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA) in cooperation with the Department of Health Abu Dhabi (DoH).

“Our model of mental healthcare spans from early recognition, screening, prevention, education and creating awareness,” Dr Nahida Nayaz Ahmed, consultant psychiatrist and chief of division, Ambulatory Healthcare Services, told Khaleej Times in an interview.

Dr Ahmed, Chair of Behavioural Health Council, SEHA, underlined that the efforts are on to be more proactive than reactive when it comes to mental health.

“Early recognition by screening is important. We have upskilled our primary care providers to recognise mental health, red flags related to mental illnesses, to screen them early on, to intervene in mild to moderate cases. There’s going to be a lot of focus in terms of early interventions and prevention,” Dr Ahmed said and noted that the care offered has been standardised across the network of healthcare facilities.

“When you go to a primary care doctor, you will be asked to fill out a questionnaire. Based on your answers, a doctor can identify people based on their depression or anxiety scores. The higher the scores, the sooner the intervention is called for,” said Dr Ahmed, who is also the Chair of Mental Health Task Force, DoH – Abu Dhabi.

Dr Ahmed highlighted the stellar role played by Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre in creating awareness among the community members and educating them about the importance of early treatment.

Another initiative, which has really made an impact is the Estijabah helpline.

“You can seek free counselling. You can ask for help. If you’re in doubt or have any questions, just call.”

Symptoms, causes of mental illness

“It starts with pushing yourself more than your limits, putting up with a lot more stress and going into burnout, that burnout sustaining for a long time, that starts affecting how you sleep, eat, talk to people, avoiding them, avoiding anything that brings you joy. Like if you were going out for movies and hanging out with friends, but when you're depressed, you don't. So, you are more isolated. It starts affecting your work. I know a lot of my patients push themselves to go to work. They hate getting out of bed every morning. So, these are all red flags. If you have any of these symptoms, then let’s talk about it.”

Exponential surge in caseloads

Dr Ahmed underlined that people, after following a certain lifestyle during the pandemic, are finding it difficult to re-acclimatise.

“Some of them have gone through personal losses and trauma of being hospitalised. So, now coming back, their anxiety levels are high. Their depression levels in some cases are high. One in five people is affected.”

Dr Ahmed said that the number of post-Covid-19 cases of mental health issues has been high.

“Pre- and post-Covid-19, the numbers have just gone up exponentially. But the other good thing about it is that perhaps they were suffering, but they were not aware. Now that there is more access and awareness. People come out and say: ‘Yes, I need help’. I’ve been starting to see more people come and knock at my door and say: ‘Something's wrong with me’. It is a big change that wasn't happening before.”

Dr Ahmed highlighted that more people have overcome the stigma associated with mental health.

“Earlier people were very stigmatised or ashamed of seeking help but are coming out and saying I don't care. So, the stigma has gone down because of all the campaigning and awareness. So, those are the positive changes we’ve seen.”

The two-day conference has key speakers from the UAE, Lebanon, the US, the UK, Uganda, Germany, Canada and Australia, and will end on Saturday.

ALSO READ:

• 8 mental health tips to protect yourself against gaslighting

• UAE jobs: Why it is important to 'switch off' after work

• Dubai: Mental health support groups for men are popping up across the city; here's why

• Lifestyle
• Abu Dhabi