In Europe, one in every two individuals suffer from mental illness. 17% youngsters between 6 to 17 years of age are experiencing a mental health disorder. The prevalence of mental disorders is high in Asia Pacific too. Brain is a beautiful and mysterious organ of a human body. If applied in the right direction, it can do wonders. If used wrongly, it can make one’s life miserable. There is a ripple effect of mental illness.
It can deeply impact the person’s life – Such patients have an increased risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular, diabetes and others.
As per research studies, depression is one of the most-leading causes for disability across the world.
More than mental illness, it is the stigmatization that persists in the world. People are still not fully aware of mental disorders and carry a negative attitude towards the ones who care for mentally-challenged.
Mental Health Bonds with Digital Health
Several factors have created a weak framework of treatment for mental health. Some of these include poor infrastructure, stigma, highly-priced treatment among others. There are people with severe mental illness, but aren’t receiving proper treatment. With the advent of digitalized healthcare, you can get quick treatment from the palm of your hand. Digital technology has really transformed our lives and has truly improved our personal experience in terms of receiving quality care.
The Choice is Digital Health – (a) No-brainer!
One more fascinating update in the mental health space is the addition of Prince Harry’s and Meghan Markle’s initiative to their philanthropic work. We might not know the reason on why they stepped back from their roles, but we know that they are very much committed to their patronages. They recently took part in a campaign called ‘#BellLetsTalkDay’, that highlights on awareness about mental health. This campaign is a Canadian mental health initiative and aims to make people aware of mental sickness.
Be it mental health or any other healthcare problem, healthcare providers will continue to focus on well-being and prevention of people including children. Recently, around 20 children were killed in the school in California on the 7th anniversary of Sandy Hook. The aftermath of this incident was so horrendous that it left a deep impact on students’ mental health. To overcome this, companies such as Betterhelp, 7cups, and Talkspace are developing innovative models that can directly link students with therapists and mental health professionals. These are self-guided apps and have proved to be effective in reducing the symptoms of depression.
digital health is cost-effective and well-structured, but the start-up cost of establishing clinics with high-tech technologies is a hindrance. Be it as it may be, increasing investments by companies into mental health services and rising preference towards home treatment among people will develop the digital health in the next few years. This, coupled with the rising support from governments, will help the digital health market to move forward. Technologies such as genomics, telemedicine, natural language processing, neuroimaging, and others are going to change our understanding of mental health and the stigma around it.