Half of mental illnesses start at the age of about 14 – Bulgaria
Half of all mental illnesses begin around the age of 14and the prevalence of depression has doubled among people over the age of 65, however in Bulgaria access to prevention services is low. This was said by Assoc. Prof. Mihail Okoliyski, WHO Representative for Bulgaria during the online discussion “Picture of mental health with a focus on depressive states.”
The discussion was organized at the initiative of the WHO, with the assistance of non-governmental organizations.
According to him, 75 percent of Bulgarians seeking help with depressive disorder reported that not adequate help.
There is less than one mental health specialist for every 10,000 people in the world, said Assoc. Prof. Okoliyski. According to him, funding for mental health is less than one percent of the health budget.
From the beginning of the attempt to have community services in our country, there is still no good communication between the responsible services.
The centers for psycho-social rehabilitation should be close to the settlements, adds Assoc. Prof. Okoliyski.
According to him in the context of the COVID pandemic no one has thought about the mental state of work on the “front line”and they are at very high risk of burnout. He did not think about the mental state of the elderly people who stayed at home, he added.
The National Plan for Recovery and Sustainability envisages modernization and development of psychiatric care, with BGN 30 million The national strategy for mental health will be supported, said Assoc. Prof. Okoliyski. The strategy assumes the development of various services in the community, training, coordination of the social and health spheres.
The other key area is the creation of health education of children from 1st to 12th grade, as the goal is for them to acquire knowledge, attitudes and skills to deal with the criterion in relationships, to know how to protect themselves from adverse influences, as well as knowledge about depression, adds Assoc. Prof. Okoliyski. The sadness of losing a loved one can have devastating consequences for young people, he added. I do not see the end of the pandemic, but it is being neglected by the new government.