Two Percent of Indonesians Aged over 15 Experiencing Mental Health Problems, Health Ministry Says

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - According to the 2023 National Health Survey (SKI), two percent of Indonesians aged over 15 are facing mental health problems, with depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia being the three most prevalent problems, the Health Ministry has reported.

In a broadcast on Monday, July 29, 2024, the ministry's director for mental health, R. Vensya Sitohang, said that 2022 data from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that one in eight people have mental health problems.

"The Global Burden (of) Disease per 2019 shows that mental health problem is the second (largest) cause of year lived with disability (YLD) in Indonesia," Sitohang said.

Other mental health issues include the use of drugs, rampant self-harm, as well as suicide attempts, she noted. They further include pornography addiction and online gambling, she added.

The causes behind these problems include a lack of understanding and literacy on mental health, limited access to mental health services, and the stigma and discrimination that often accompany attempts to seek help, she said.

She then stressed that there can be no health without mental health. The theme of the 2024 World Mental Health Day is "It is Time to Prioritize Mental Health in the Workplace," which she said is in line with the current situation in Indonesia.

Data recorded by Statistics Indonesia in 2023 pegged the number of people in the workforce at 147.7 million, or accounting for 68 percent of the total population. Of the number, 139 million were employed, Sitohang said.

Workload can contribute to a decline in health, not to mention harassment, discrimination, and bullying springing from the working environment, she added.

Mental health problems concern everyone, she said, as they can affect people's emotions, moods, and behavior toward those they have relations with, their education, jobs, and the general populace.

"This condition becomes a burden for a country, including ours, Indonesia, as it affects physical health, social life, human rights, economy, and what's the most harmful is how it can degrade human resources' productivity," she explained.

ANTARA

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