Jamaican urged to show care for persons with mental illness

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton, is calling on community members to show greater support and care for persons with mental health challenges.

He argued that a more caring approach will break down the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental illness and encourage more persons to seek help when they need it, and not feel fearful or ashamed.

“If we are able to address the issue of stigma, we would perhaps solve 50 per cent of the challenges with mental health, because it would trigger a number of things –admission of the problem, encourage expansion of the services that we offer and the response,” Tufton said.

The Minister, who was addressing the recent opening of a mental health conference at the AC Mariott Hotel in New Kingston, said it is important that persons in distress get assistance as soon as possible.

As such, he said that every individual, with appropriate levels of training and support, can provide psychosocial support for people who show signs of a mental health problem.

The conference, held under the theme ‘Prioritising Mental Health in the Workplace’, discussed various topics, including Mentally Healthy Workplace; Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace; Bipolar Disorder; Missing and Misdiagnosing Adult ADHD; Workplace Accommodations for People with Cognitive Impairment; and Substance Use Disorder Screening and Workplace Wellness.

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