Mental Health Patient

At the hospital today, one patient came with wounds around her wrists. The doctor at the hospital treated her deep cuts and dressed her wounds. Explaining to the volunteers what had happened, the doctor described that the patient had been under much pressure at a very competitive school, and she took the matter into her own hands. He related that while she was harming herself, as her cuts had become painfully deep, she started screaming and rushed to the hospital. After explaining the situation to the volunteers, the doctor then had to help treat other patients. One volunteer, with a particular interest in mental health, asked the doctor if he could speak with the patient, which the doctor allowed. Though the patient did not want to discuss her situation, she had a nice conversation with the volunteer, who gave her as much emotional support as he could. It is very sad that most mental health patients' matters are almost brushed under the table, and doctors in developing countries can usually only focus on physical concerns of patients because of their limited time available to patients. I hope that we can balance our healthcare for mental and physical needs in any country in the very near future, as a healthy mind is just as important as a healthy body.