There is no dearth of stress or depression related problems in our society today. The deep rooted corruption and state sponsored violence in the name of conflict have had corrosive effect on the value system of our society that one would see cynicism everywhere. State psychiatrists have said that depression related cases are on the rise in the state mainly due to the law and order situation and they have flagged the want of more psychiatrists in the state. According to records available, a total of 14,705 were admitted in the OPD ward of Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) Imphal beginning from April 1, 2011 till 31 March 2012. There have been a total of 103 cases referred from other departments of the Institute. During the year, 273 male and 143 female patients have been admitted in the ward for treatment. A total of 416 patients occupy about 95 % of the beds in the ward and each patient stays at least 15 days approximately. 7 emergency cases were treated during the year. This is the figure at RIMS which saw a quantum jump in recent times. The case is the same at Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) hospital in Imphal East. The other day state Health Minister Phungzathang Tonsing had announced on the occasion of World Mental Health Day that a 50 bedded Mental Hospital at JNIMS campus is coming to cater to the needs of mental patients. Giving his usual ‘blah-blah’ as the concerned Minister he had said that it is high time that we take the issue of mental health seriously and not by just observing the World Mental Health Day. And he had also appealed the doctors and nurses to work sincerely and with co-operation. Yes, we all agree that there is a genuine need for a dedicated Mental Hospital in the state besides the OPD and ward facilities at both the Psychiatric departments of RIMS and JNIMS hospitals. The Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) which functions under the Union Health Ministry has asked for more psychiatrists in the hospital to meet the increasing demands. This is also a genuine demand. Yet, this is more about coping with problems through up by the rise in the number of mental health patients in the state. Ok fine. All we have to pray is that the focus of either the Minister or officials stays beyond the ritual of World Mental Health Day, through the year or years. However, we would rather draw the attention of the state towards the basic problems affecting mental health of the people of the state. As we said in the beginning, corruption and violence has taken a toll on the people. Since 1958, the people of northeast or for that matter Manipur have been experiencing a collective trauma brought by the imposition of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and its violence. We would like to recall the case of a small girl called Bidyarani who lives near Loktak Lake, who is still haunted by the intimidating behaviour of security forces who had taken away both her parents. She and many of her mates in the village are still facing collective trauma even today. What is most worrisome is that the people affected by the violence direct or indirect had long forgotten what does peace or normalcy really means. And people had slowly begun to look upon the present state of affairs to which one should endeavour to adapt. Which is why, people seems to be flocking towards a negative form of peace which is the absence of violence. At the same time, violence has become something to which most of us are attracted. The reports of direct violence and gory events have become the staple diet of the people as the media continually feeds them daily in a skewed interpretation of demand and supply. And, most of us are not concerned about the indirect violence caused by direct violence and corruption. In the case of corruption, it has become something to which we have to adapt and adjust. Unless we focus on the root causes of the problems affecting mental health of the people, more doctors or more hospitals would not provide the magic cure.
