What is health?
Health, defined by WHO , is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".
What is MENTAL health?
Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. It is an integral component of health and well-being that underpins our individual and collective abilities to make decisions, build relationships and shape the world we live in.
Mental health is a basic human right. And it is crucial to personal, community and socio-economic development. Mental health is more than the absence of mental disorders. It exists on a complex continuum, which is experienced differently from one person to the next, with varying degrees of difficulty and distress and potentially very different social and clinical outcomes.
What is a mental health DISORDER?
A mental disorder is a syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or developmental processes underlying mental functioning. Mental disorders are usually associated with significant distress or disability in social, occupational, or other important activities.
What CAUSES mental health disorders?
There are multiple factors that cause mental health disorders and are categorized into three
- Genetic causes (genetic traits that are directly inherited from biological parents)
- Environmental causes (such as childhood trauma, abuse, violence, war, bullying etc)
- Brain abnormalities ( such as physical traumatic brain injury, neurochemical imbalances due to infections or drug use)
How prevalent are mental disorders in the SOGIE community?
Compared to the general population the SOGIE community suffers more from mental health problems and it is due to collective violence (stigma, marginalization, discrimination) from family, friends, the general public and even from their fellow community members, which will directly interfere with self acceptance and later leads to significant distress.
It’s NOT because being part of the SOGIE itself is a mental disorder. The SOGIE also encounters prejudice and stigma from institutions, like health care centers, religious institutions and the LAW that constrain opportunities, resources, and wellbeing for stigmatized populations and also spreads hate and advocates for violence.
In 1973 the American psychological association considered homosexuality as mental illness. But, the decision was made not because of a brain pathology scientists proved to exist amongst those specific group of people, but rather solemnly due to societal belief of that specific time, which was later removed from diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders(DSM).
Tips
- Mental health disorders are NOT caused by evil spirit possessions.
- Identifying Being a member of the SOGIE is not a mental health disorder.
- Mental health is equally as crucial as physical health.
- Mental health disorders are treatable.
Stay tuned for our next article, which will highlight the commonest types of mental health disorders within SOGIE communities our community.
Dr. Zema
