Topic: How will you work for consciousness raising as a community

psychologists to enhance awareness regarding mental disorders and

their treatment. 

Assignment # 3

Submitted BY

AYESHA RAUF (17271511-003) KAINAT ASHFAQ (015)

AYESHA SAJID (016) HIRA SIDDIQUE (050) MEMOONA
JAVED (053) LAIBA SAI (056)

PSY 405 (Community Psychology)

Submitted to

Ma’am Humaira

Department of Psychology

UNIVERSITY OF GUJRAT

What is Consciousness Raising:?

"It is an activity in which we seek to make people more aware of their personal, social and
political issues.”

 Consciousness raising is also called as "awareness raising ". It includes a particular group

of people which raise their voice to make proper of particular situation, circumstances,
conditions, and causes on a particular issue.

 It involves all kind of political, personal, social, national, international issues. For

example recently this COVID pandemic have very devastating impact on World so to
make people aware of it a some people volunteer themselves to make prole aware this
COVID its causes and how to deal with it what particular precautions should people  use.
Theses all strategies, precautions plans are given to make people aware of this pandemic.

 Another way of consciousness raising is by social media we can raise and convey our
message to the world easily as nowadays social media is used worldwide. For
example the recent issue of Palestine is discussed a lot because people are aware of it
through social media. They are raising their voice for it through social media. Because
social media have alot of power it can bring big changes in the world.

 Another example of consciousness raising is that the recent PM of Pakistan also used this
concept of consciousness raising or awareness raising to became prime minister. He
conveyed his message to youth through social media, through doing strikes etc.

 As we see the history of Pakistan, it came into being because of this consciousness

raising and awareness. Quaid-e-Azam formed a separate political party to tell people
about their social, religious, personal rights and tell them how to get that rights from
others. Allama Iqbal conveyed the message from his poetry. He make everyone know
about their rights and to fight fir their rights through poetry. Many other leaders used
different ways and means to promote consciousness raising and awareness.

What is mental health?

 Mental health is the psychological health of a person. It affects all the aspects of life including
how a person thinks, make decisions, behaves with others, handle stressful and emotional
triggering situations. Family history, biological factors, and personal experiences of a person
determines his mental health. An individual with good mental health can work productively, can
acquire self actualization, make a meaningful contribution in the community, and can cope with
difficult situations.

What are some common mental health disorders in pakistan?

There are many mental disorders that are mentioned below:

Anxiety Disorders:
Anxiety Disorders may cause distress, frequent fear and apprehension among people. There are
lot of anxiety Disorders cause by different reasons.
• Generalized Anxiety Disorders
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• Panic Disorder
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Social Anxiety Disorder 

Mood Disorders:
   Mood Disorders cause mood swings amoung people from time to time, people with mood
Disorders live with more persistent and severe symptoms.
• Major depression
• Dysthymia
• Bipolar Disorder
• Substance Induced mood Disorder

Psychotic Disorders:
 People suffering from psychotic disorder may be unable to know about what is real and what is
not.
• Schizophrenia
• Schizoeffctive disorder
• Brief psychotic Disorder
• Delusional disorder
• Substance Induced psychotic disorder

Dementia:
   Dementia is a term that covers wide range of specific mental condition. Those 
Suffering from dementia related problems may face a decline in cognitive abilities. Offen
sever enough to impaire daily life activities and independent functioning.
• Parkinson’s disease
• Frontotemporal demencia
• Huntington disease
 

Causes of mental health disorders in Pakistan?

The possible causes of mental health disorders in Pakistan could be:

 Unemployment
 Terrorism
 Child labor
 Gender discrimination
 Corruption
 Poor political system
 Favoritism
 Interpersonal relationships
 Family conflicts
 Racism
  Drug abuse
 Illiteracy
 Load shedding
 Food crisis
 Nepotism
 Pollution

What are the ways to maintain positive mental health?

As a community psychologist, I would encourage all the people to take care of their mental
health. A good community is the one in which the citizens feel safe, happy, peaceful, confident
and fairfull. Positive mental health of the citizens would create a positive community. Following
are the ways to achieve positive mental health, which I would recommend as a community
psychologist.

 Stay positive
 Communicate with others
 Be generous towards others
 Involve yourself in physical activities
 Eat healthy
 Drink clean water
 Work on your coping skills
 Maintain a good sleeping pattern
 Don’t mind taking help from professional psychologists during stressful situation
 Communicate with your creator by praying
 Do not lose hope
 Meditate
 Be open to your loved ones about your problems
Mental health problems in Pakistan

Due to the lack of awareness, mental health disorders and suicide cases are increasing day by day
in Pakistan. So as a community psychologists it’s our duty to enhance awareness among people
regarding mental health disorders and their treatment.

In Pakistan most people belong to poor middle class family and fulfilling their basic needs of life
is hard for them. Due to lack of education and resources, they don't believe in any concept of
mental health and hence no importance is given to this topic as for them it don't exist. And
remaining other people don't talk about it due to its stigmatization. So in order to normalize this
issue we as community psychologists should work for consciousness raising to enhance
awareness regarding mental disorder and their treatment.

What are the strategies to create awareness about mental health?

Mental health disorders are not just mental they have a systematic effect on the body. People
with the mental illness about 50%have cardiovascular diseases about 7 % are at risk of
developing cardiovascular disease in the future; They’re around 85%more likely to die from
cardiovascular disease compared to the general population without mental illness. When we
think about treatment it’s really important that we address the mind and the body and so we’re
actually delivering interventions that can address physical health consequences of mental illness.

 As a community psychologist I will educate communities about physical health concerns

such as heart disease; it’s very important that we start conversation about mental health or
what mental health is and how to acknowledge it and the fact that is a treatable illness.
 I would give counseling sessions and treat these mental health problems.
 As a community psychologist I would suggest relaxation techniques and exercises to
usual care which had a significant effect in improving people symptoms. Not just
symptoms of PTSD but also symptoms of depression and anxiety and also improve their
physical health simultaneously.
 I would suggest some techniques to make mental health better like start your day well.
Avoid bad habits and addictions. Don’t compare with others. Stop over thinking, build
good relations, not everyone like you, and use less social media and phone, take proper
and enough sleep.
  As a community psychologist I would organized the community development programs
and educate people of society by preventive interventions at community centers, schools,
colleges that help the deal with mental disorder.
 I will help people by educating them about mental health that physical health can have a
direct impact on mental health, so eating healthy food and getting plenty of exercise and
sleep.

What are the most effective ways for consciousness raising?

 Arrange an Event:

To create awareness among people we should arrange an event regarding mental health disorders
in different organization and societies. For example, to educate parents about mental health is
important as most parents of Pakistan don't believe in children mental and emotional health and
their negligence leads to mental disorder like anxiety disorder, mood disorder, schizophrenia and
personality disorder etc. Depression and anxiety are the most common mental disorders among
adolescent. The major causes of these are neglect ion, trauma, loneliness, poverty, bereavement,
experience discrimination and stigma. Due to family pressure and problems many children
experiencing stress and depression but their families are unaware of it as there is communication
gap between parents and child. So we should arrange conference in communities and taught
parents methods to overcome differences present between them and their children and discuss at
domestic level. Parents should told about mental illness and its importance and how it effects
children. Symptoms of different mental disorders should be told to them and if they notice any of
them in their child they should contact psychologist and don't worry about what people will
think.

Many mental disorders occurs in early life. Children in most families face negligence, not right
to put their opinions, gender discrimination, childhood trauma and parents pressure etc. Such
children become shy, anxious and have low self-esteem and confidence. They avoid social
gatherings and don't participate in any activity. Spend most of the time alone in darkness and
have sleeping and eating disorder. They have disturb thoughts and poor decision ability. And
when parents take them for granted and don't pay attention on them, major mental disorders like
OCD, schizophrenia, DID, eating disorder, panic attacks etc. develop in them. So parents should
pay attention on child’s behavior and talk to them about their feelings and thoughts. In awareness
program arrange for parents videos and documentaries regarding mental health should also be
shown to them so that they understand it properly and get proper knowledge.

 Seminar for students:

As students are the assets of nation and future of the nation, so they must be aware of mental
health problems and how they affect people’s life. They should know how to treat people having
mental disorders and should be kind to them. As bullying in children is also raising and it leads
to serious mental health problems like anxiety disorder, depression, eating disorder etc. So create
awareness in students about mental health and its importance is very important. They should give
lecture on mental disorders and their symptoms and enhance awareness regarding mental
disorder and their treatment. Students should also show documentaries and tour should be
arrange to mental asylum in order to have better understanding of mental illness.

Many students take stress of studies and obtaining good grades and in this regard they forget
their physical and mental health. In online classes students face many more problems like hurdle
understanding online lectures, burden of work, internet problem, electricity issues etc. causes
stress, anxiety and pressure among students. Many students deal with this stress but sensitive
students can't manage it and stresses on it which in result lead to anxiety disorder and depression.
So through seminar students should taught to deal with stress and positive health behavior so that
they can prevent occurrence of mental disorder. Importance and difficulties of life should be told
and guide them about mental health. Mental health is as important as physical health. So minor
symptoms of disease should not be ignored and therapist should be seen.

There should also a psychologist present in the school setting that on week basis gave lecture on
mental health awareness and promote helping behavior in children to help ill person.

 Social Media:

The use of social media is increasing day by day. It’s a versatile platform that plays a key role in
today's life. Social Media is an effective and excellent tool for raising voice regarding any issue,
creating awareness among people regarding mental health disorders and their treatment, telling
people about mental health and talk openly about their mental health and provide assistance to
them. Help them by sharing your experience and knowledge.

In order to enhance awareness regarding mental disorder and their treatment, I will use social
media platform as it’s a most influential platform nowadays. I will share posts that contains
knowledge based content to increase awareness of mental disorders. Make videos on mental
disorders and tell the importance of mental health. Encourage people to talk about it openly and
stop stigmatizing it. Will use social media to conduct mental health campaigns to reach several
people from all over the world over short time period. As due to corona gathering is not allowed.
So in this case technology help us and we can conduct online campaigns and participants from
all over the world could virtually be a part of the campaign. Through this platform we can spread
awareness everywhere in the world in low resource setting and high social engagement.

As in Pakistan people are not aware of mental health problems and how to deal with them. They
even can't tell anyone due to people stigmatization. So raising awareness about mental health and
issues that affect mental health and gradually leads to mental disorders is important as people
will learn and understand their behavior. And seek treatment for it. I will also introduce positive
health behavior to prevent people from mental illness.

Also sharing stories of people having mental disorder and interviewing them also enhance our
knowledge. As a community psychologist, I will raise social issues which are causing mental
health problems like rape, child abuse, domestic violence, cyber bullying, natural disasters etc.
All contributing to effect mental and emotional health of people. In the same way Palestinian’s
who are been attacking nowadays and Kashmiris people, their mental health is completely
destroyed and chances of symptoms of PTSD, depression, anxiety and many more are guarantee.
So awareness should be given to world and work on their treatment.
  COVID-19 and Mental Health Disorders 
The COVID-19 pandemic has become a destructive challenge has badly affected the social,
economic, and health care systems of the world. The pandemic has also effect Pakistan
destructively. On 26 February 2020, first case of the deadly virus was reported in Pakistan. And
as of today, 929000 cases have been reported in Pakistan since then along with 21105 deaths.
This virus has also created a strong impact on the mental health suffering. The lockdown
imposed by the Government, self-isolation, and quarantine has become so extensive, generating
anxiety, depression, panic, insecurity, and other mental illnesses. A large number of people have
lost their jobs and are suffering from unemployment. 34 suicide cases have been reported in
Pakistan who were suffering from partial unemployment due to lockdown. Mental health crisis
due to COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan has become devastating and its effects are going to
persist in long term so effective measures are needed to be taken to address mental health issues
in Pakistan. As a community Psychologist, I will take following steps to promote consciousness
raising and enhance the awareness regarding mental health disorders caused by the COVID-19. 

What can I do as community psychologist during current pandemic?

 I would help local NGOs in addressing the mental health disorders by providing
necessary information to the people about the impact of COVID on mental health
especially in the rural communities of Pakistan. 
 I would encourage different organizations and local administrations to establish
rehabilitation centers to rural areas that lack similar initiatives of the Government. 
 As a community psychologist I would use mass media as a tool to motivate people in the
crisis of hopelessness and provide awareness on the mental health issues and the possible
measures people can take themselves to remain optimistic and hopeful. 
 I would give counseling sessions and encourage other psychologists to give counseling
sessions on Social media and even television where they can address large audience. 
 I would suggest the mass media to create patriotic and emotional dramas, movies and
songs and the national TV should air them to minimize the risk of stress in the nation. 
  As a community psychologist, I would also suggest the TV channels to arrange shows
that can give awareness to people about the mental health issues and how they can treat
these mental health issues. 
 Religious scholars have a huge impact on masses, these scholars would be suggested to
use social media to deliver speeches to boost the morale of people to face the ongoing
crisis. 
 To raise consciousness about the mental problems related to COVID-19, I would also use
mobile messages to address people about the situation. 
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