The passage of the Mental Healthcare Bill is welcome. A particular clause emphasising an advanced directive from the patient for treatment to begin requires reconsideration as patients affected by delusions and who feel that everyone is conspiring against him or her cannot be expected to give consent. A rights-based approach to mental health care merits effective implementation on the ground.
M. Jeyaram,
Sholavandan, Tamil Nadu
The decriminalisation of suicide attempts is long overdue. We must admit that we move at a snail’s pace when it comes to reforms. However, it is gratifying that Parliament has at last recognised the distinction between a patient and a criminal and the futility of prosecuting the survivors of attempted suicide and deemed it fair to spare them more agony. The decision to end one’s own life is taken when life is seen as not worth-living any more. Whether the decision is momentary or a long-thought-out, the survivors of the most frightening of experiences needs sympathy and counselling to come out of depression and not punishment for seeking to escape from “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”. If a person is driven to contemplate the extreme step, it is not his fault alone. Society too is responsible in a way for failing to provide emotional support to deal with the vicissitudes of life. The sense of shame and guilt people feel has to be de-intensified to bring the sufferers to a normal life. There should be support-systems with the back-up of psychiatrist treatment in place to manage irreplaceable losses, relationship failures and economic hardships. It is important to de-stigmatise mental illness and educate the people on the need to seek treatment as is done in the case of physical illness. The effacement of Section: 309 (Attempt to commit suicide) from the Indian Penal Code has made our country that much more sensible.
G. David Milton,
Maruthancode, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu
The pressure from severe stress and mental illness to commit suicide usually overrides the fear of criminalisation, making it redundant to criminalise suicidal acts. This Bill rectifies the ineffective incentive to prevent suicides through proscribing suicidal behaviour and focusses on obtaining health care for the mentally ill. The time has finally come to realise that those who are tempted into the suicide trap should not be legally considered as criminals, but victims of psychological disorders.
Manickam Valliappan,
Coimbatore
Though health care is one area where the 20th century has seen significant contributions being made to it, we still have a long way to go when it comes to dealing with mental health. The objective of World Mental Health Day is to raise awareness of mental health issues and mobilise efforts in support of mental health. Initially, when someone close to you is diagnosed with mental illness, people feel ashamed, lonely and difficult to open up because of the stigma. A change in people’s perception and encouraging mental health literacy can help remove stigma and discrimination that stand in the way of finding cures and helping people diagnosed with mental illness live a complete life they deserve.
T.S. Karthik,
Chennai
