He said the Day is use to raise awareness on issues of Mental Health and as well mobilize supports for effective treatment and control in addressing it.
The theme for this year Dr. Jalloh went on is: “Mental Health in the Work Place” which he said was chosen as a result of a study carried by WHO with an estimation that Depression and Anxiety Disorders is causing the Global Economy 1 Trillion Dollars each year in lost production.
The medical superintendent furthered that Sierra Leone as a nation is not an exception to this and that some of the causes of depression and anxiety disorder according to the WHO study are unemployment and non-conducive working environment among others.
Sierra Leone he said yesterday joined the world to celebrate this day and showcased some of the causes of mental health issues in the work place.
Added to some of the issue already highlighted, Dr. Jalloh said other causes are that of dictatorship in the workplace, inadequate supports for employees, lack of proper human resource management, lack of team work, harassment (psychological and physical) by superior and bullying of junior workers to name but few are all causes of mental health problem.
The way forward he said, is for workers to seek help, adding that early recognition and treatment of these disorders will help alleviate the problems and the individual will become productive and that mental illnesses don’t discriminate and it’s real and treatable.
