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Essay on Importance of Mental Health

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Added on  2020-05-16

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According to the international standards, the overall state of health at Singapore is good. Better standards of living, good housing facilities, high education standards, proper sanitation facilities, provisions for safe drinking water, active promotion of use of preventive medicine and superior quality medical services are responsible for significantly boosting the health and wellbeing of all Singaporeans.

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Essay on Importance of Mental Health

   Added on 2020-05-16

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Running head- WELLBEINGNational Health Priority in SingaporeName of the StudentName of the UniversityAuthor Note
Essay on Importance of Mental Health_1
1WELLBEINGAccording to the international standards, the overall state of health at Singapore is good.Better standards of living, good housing facilities, high education standards, proper sanitationfacilities, provisions for safe drinking water, active promotion of use of preventive medicine andsuperior quality medical services are responsible for significantly boosting the health andwellbeing of all Singaporeans (Takala et al., 2014). The National Health Priority Areas (NHPA)can therefore be defined as a form of collaboration between the state and the government, whichfocuses on drawing relevant expertise from the non-governmental sector. The primary objectiveof these priority areas is related to continuum of care that includes screening, management andprevention, treatment, palliative care and rehabilitation (Patel et al., 2013). The major healthpriority areas that contribute to increased rates of mortality and morbidity include cancer, mentalhealth, cardiovascular health, injuries, asthma and diabetes. This essay will illustrate theimportance of mental health as the key priority area (Anikeeva et al., 2015).The term health is an essential concept and was initially defined as the absence of illnessor diseases. However, according to the World Health Organization, health is now defined as thestate of complete social, physical, and mental well-being of an individual and is not justrestricted to the absence of disease or any infirmity (Who.int, 2018). Although recent years haveseen a significant improvement in the health status of Singapore, the aforementioned non-communicable diseases have been recognized as the leading causes for morbidity and mortality.Mental health, the key priority area encompasses psychological, emotional and social wellbeingand influences the thoughts and feelings experienced by a person (Whiteford et al., 2013). Ithelps in determining the way of handling stress and decision making. It includes the ability of anindividual to enjoy own life, and facilitates creating a balance between the efforts and lifeactivities in order to achieve psychological resilience (Wallace, 2013). According to the
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2WELLBEINGSingapore Mental Health Study conducted in 2010, more than 9.3% residents of Singapore werefound to suffer from one kind of anxiety or mood disorder at some point in their life. The findings of the study suggested that Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) andMajor Depressive Disorder (MDD) were some of the most prevalent mental illnesses inSingapore. While OCD was found to affect around 33 residents, MDD was diagnosed in 1 in 17residents (Subramaniam et al., 2012). Mental health is considered as a priority area as it isinfluenced by a plethora of socio-economic factors. Positive mental health or wellbeingcontributes to a better lifestyle, improved physical condition and easy recovery from illnesses(Lee & Matejkowski, 2012). Small differences with regards to inequality levels have been foundto create significant negative impacts on mental health. Thus, it has been identified as a priorityarea with the aim of promoting the underlying factors that support the overall mental well-being. Research evidences suggest that mental disorders, specifically bipolar affective disordersand depression are one of the leading causes of mortality, worldwide. Furthermore, evidencesemphasise on the role of depression in the occurrence of several chronic diseases such as,obesity, asthma, diabetes and cardiovascular disorders (Walker, McGee & Druss, 2015).Therefore, there are several factors ranging from biological, genetic to environmental that act asrisk factors for the prevalence of mental disorders. In addition, the term mental health needsrefers to justification for the formulation of mental health services. Thus, identification of mentalhealth as a priority area refers to the input that mental health services that make with the aim ofrendering effective socio-economic development (Vaingankar et al., 2012). Moreover, evidencesthat support recognition of mental health as a health priority illustrate the fact that rates ofunaddressed and undiagnosed mental disorders continue to increase on a global scale.
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3WELLBEINGAccording to research studies, more than 1 million people suffer from depression, 24million from schizophrenia and 37 million from Alzheimer’s disease (Subramaniam et al., 2013).Similar findings have been suggested by the Singapore Mental Health Study (2010), whichillustrated prevalence of lifetime mental illness among 12% residents, which accounts for 1 in 8people (Subramaniam et al., 2012). Evidences for identification of this aspect as the nationalhealth priority area can be attributed to data from World Bank studies that establish mentaldisorders as the major reason for low quality of life. In addition, research findings havedemonstrated decline in usage of medical services with increased provisions of appropriatehealthcare facilities. A 50% decline in laboratory costs, and 90 % in total number of medical visits had beenobserved in a study conducted on people suffering from anxiety disorders, followingpsychological treatment (Hu & Sheu, 2013). On the other hand, a two-fold increase in the ratesof visiting medical doctor has been demonstrated in the results of other research studies thatenrolled respondents with untreated mental disorders. Studies have further elaborated on the factthat psychological disorders increase the likelihood of a person in making poor behavioralchoices, which in turn significantly contribute to other chronic medical problems. There are several stigmas associated with mental illness that result in misunderstandingsregarding their prevalence. Social stigma is quite common that worsens the overall health andwellbeing of most individuals. Research findings illustrate the presence of stigma anddiscrimination in 9 out of 10 individuals suffering from such disorders, which creates significantnegative impacts on their life (Bharadwaj, Pai & Suziedelyte, 2017). According to researchfindings, people with mental disorders are more susceptible to social exclusion anddiscrimination. This impedes or delays their treatment and recovery (Clement et al., 2015).
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