‘Mental illness on the rise’

Mental illness in on the rise in the country as over 20 percent population is suffering from it. It was stated by chairman of Psychiatry Department of King Edward Medical University, Mayo Hospital Prof. Dr Aftab Asif in connection with World Mental Health Day. He said that mental illness is a time bomb that takes many innocent victims when it explodes. Mental disorders affect nearly 12 percent of the world’s population or one out of every four people around the world will experience a mental illness, he added.

He said that mental illness was the second highest disease in the world after cardiac disease and cancer, while the World Health Organization (WHO) had warned that if the rising number of mental diseases continued, it would become number one disease in the world in 2030. He said that every 40 seconds someone loses their life to suicide in the world.

He said that suicide has become the second most common cause of premature death among teens and young adults. Despite progress, one person still dies every 40 seconds from suicide in the world, he added.