Awareness, first key to treating mental disorder

It is not that because you have a mental illness or mental problem that you are already psychotic,” Dr. Ilano said. “The earlier you are aware (of your condition), the sooner you get help, the better would be the prognosis

A mental disorder does not necessarily mean insanity. This is what Dr. Glenda Basubas-Ilano would want Cebuanos to understand.

“It is not that because you have a mental illness or mental problem that you are already psychotic,” Dr. Ilano said. “The earlier you are aware (of your condition), the sooner you get help, the better would be the prognosis,” she added.

Doctor Ilano, who chairs the committee on advocacy, legislation and multimedia of the Philippine Psychiatric Association (PPA), revealed that in a recent study endorsed by the PPA, they found out that 32 percent of government workers are suffering from one form of mental disorder or another.

“It is not insanity but most of them have phobia, some have anxiety and a small percentage has depression. This goes to show that from all walks of life there are a lot of mental health issues that could be problematic to the individual but they are not seeking treatment for several reasons,” she said.

One of the reasons that Dr. Ilano pointed out is the stigma that comes with seeking the help of a shrink (slang for psychiatrist).

This is why, she said, that PPA is concentrating its efforts on educating the public about seeking the help of psychiatrists. She also said that aside from delivering their message directly to the public, PPA is also focusing its outreach campaign to their colleagues in the medical profession.

“Take the family doctors for example,” she said. “They are very crucial because they are the first line (doctors) kay anha mana magpaconsult sa ila ang mga pasyente dayon (because patients usually seek their help first). They are also exposed to companies and the work force so if they have patients whom they suspect to have a mental disorder they could refer them to us ASAP.”

Currently PPA is doing a series of media fora. The first two was held in Manila and covered topics on the coping mechanisms of Filipinos towards chronic medical illness and the challenges that parents of teenagers are currently facing.

Today, October 13, PPA will be bringing their series of fora to Cebu with the topic on Understanding Drug Abuse and Addiction. The speakers would include Dr. Antonio Gauzon who is currently the president of the Philippine College of Addiction Medicine and will talk on issues concerning drug abuse and addiction; and Dr. Bennet Ponio, president of The Group For Addiction Psychiatry – Philippines, who will talk on the biological aspects of addiction and drug abuse.

Although the forum is initially open to media practitioners, Dr. Ilano said that their group also plans to reach out to the general public as part of the celebration of the Mental Health Week.