Mental health problems linked to substance abuse

We must work to make mental wellbeing for all a priority, Health Minister Popi Kanari said on Tuesday as the addictions authority shared alarming numbers correlating mental illness with substance abuse in Cyprus.

On the occasion of World Mental Health Day on October 10, the addictions authority said economic recession, joblessness and displacement due to war are among the stressors that usually lead to increased admissions to psychiatric hospitals in times of economic recession.

In Cyprus, it is estimated that 65 per cent of admissions for psychosis-related disorders at the Athalassa mental hospital are estimated to be due to drug use.

“Based on this evidence, it is clear that there is a significant connection between mental health and substance abuse,” it said, adding that this does not mean that it is always obvious which diagnosis precedes the other.

“Mental health is not just the absence of mental disorder,” the statement stressed. “It is defined as the state of health in which a person realises their potential, is able to face the difficulties arising from everyday life, is productive and can contribute to society as a whole”.

Meanwhile, the minister said “health, as the most valuable asset we can have, encompasses not only physical, but also mental health”.

Kanari said that one of her aims when she took over her post “was and is to work together in an era of new normality to achieve mental wellbeing, that is to make mental health and wellbeing for all a priority, starting from our children and teenagers, the future of our country”.

The minister said that the non-negotiable good of mental health must be protected and strengthened on a systematic basis, especially nowadays, when children have experienced the multidimensional negative effects of extreme phenomena that plague humanity, like pandemics and wars.

The goal, she said, is to invest in children’s mental development so that they are able to overcome everyday tensions, painful situations and the difficulties of life, to be ready to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow and to be useful members of society.

Citing estimates from the World Health Organisation, she said 10 to 20 per cent of adolescents worldwide experience mental health conditions that remain underdiagnosed and undertreated.

If left untreated, these disorders can exacerbate and continue into adulthood, affecting people’s health, professional and social life, she said.