Mental health, social harmony

  With the development of society and economy, China’s mental health work is facing great challenges. At present, mental disorders have surpassed cardiovascular, respiratory and malignant tumor disorders in the ranking of the total disease burden in China, taking the first place. Mental health as a public health and social problem has become the consensus of the international community, the concern for mental health is the fundamental concern for people, the level of national mental health and access to mental health services is one of the important symbols to measure the degree of a country’s society and civilization, but also directly affect the harmony and development of society.  Mental disorders (also known as mental illnesses) are disorders or abnormalities in mental activities such as perception, emotion and thinking caused by various reasons, resulting in significant psychological suffering or impairment of functions such as social adaptation of patients.  Due to the fact that mental health knowledge is not widespread and publicity is not enough, most people do not know enough about mental disorders, lack of understanding and sympathy for patients, and the phenomenon of prejudice and discrimination is serious, resulting in some people with mental disorders cannot successfully return to the social family and have a strong sense of “disease stigma”. Even if some patients and their families have some knowledge of mental health and recognize the nature of the disease, most of them would rather suffer on their own than seek help from psychiatrists, fearing discrimination due to “mental illness”, which delays treatment and aggravates their condition.  What is mental health?  The World Health Organization defines health as a state of physical, mental and social well-being, and only a person with a healthy body and a healthy personality can adapt to a changing society. The slogan of the United Nations World Health Organization is: “Half of health is mental health!”  By mental health we mean the development of an individual’s state of mind to the optimum within the limits of physical, intellectual, and emotional health that is not in contradiction with the mental health of others.