Mental Health in India Initiatives Societal Attitude and the Role of Communication

Abstract

newline Different illnesses cause different kinds of emotional reactions in public. Most physical illnesses newlinelike a fracture or heart disease or even cancer causes a feeling of sympathy for the victim. Some newlineother communicable diseases like tuberculosis or plague causes fear of catching the infection newlinefrom the sufferer. Still others like leprosy with its ugly open sores cause a feeling of disgust. newlineEmotional reaction to mental illness is usually more than all these; it is perceived as something newlinestrange, mysterious and also dangerous. People diagnosed with a mental illness are typically newlinecategorized as an object of contempt.