Mental health problems can affect our “daily life, family, school, work and leisure” and early diagnosis and treatment is the best way to avert personal catastrophe, according to Greek Socialist Evangelia Tzampazi, who is preparing a report on the subject.
Mental health problems can affect our “daily life, family, school, work and leisure” and early diagnosis and treatment is the best way to avert personal catastrophe, according to Greek Socialist Evangelia Tzampazi, who is preparing a report on the subject. Mental illness affects millions of Europeans and is linked to 90% of all suicides. She talked to us about the issues involved.
What do you hope to achieve with this report?
Mental health has been neglected at the European level. I hope this report will form a useful guide to help reduce the big disparities between countries.
Unfortunately, it is hard to get reliable statistics. For example, if we compare the suicide rates in Latvia and Greece, the Greek figures don't correspond to reality, as for religious reasons we do not declare our suicides.
The EU can play an essential role in promoting and sharing good practice. In the UK there are structures for the support and prevention of disabled groups - we often find mental health disorders in people who also have a physical disability, like me.
It is estimated that by 2020, depression will be the most common illness in the developed world and the second biggest cause of disability. Why?
Depression (and the suicide that often follows it) is the invisible enemy. It often has more victims than, say, road accidents. The problem is that people suffering from mental disorders are not given the right support at an early stage.
I believe in education and in the prevention and early diagnosis of mental disorders. I was glad when I heard that in Greece, the University of Ioannina is thinking of training primary and kindergarten teachers to identify mental health issues in children. This way their disorders will not become chronic, in which case all you can do is treat them with drugs.
What can be done to cut the number of suicide attempts in the EU?
About 59,000 people commit suicide every year in the EU, 90% of which are attributable to mental disorder. Countries can recoup money spent in prevention by not losing people to the workforce, by enabling them to be active members of society instead of giving anguish to their families.
Countries could also use European money for various preventative schemes. Just think of a man struggling to find a job when he has the stigma of having been a mental patient. Think how good he would feel if he was a teacher for a group of children or elderly people! I believe that the local community must listen to and support people with mental disorders.
Being a victim of a physical disability and one of the few MEPs working at the Parliament in a wheelchair, what is your own battle?
My disability and I have been companions for 48 years now. I had polio when I was 10 months old and since then I have had mobility problems. I have always had support from my parents, who treated me as if my disability was something natural. I chose with whom to dance when I was a teenager, I was not ashamed that my iron “Robocop” foot was in view, I wore a skirt: this way I had a very balanced adolescence.
Then came my children, a great joy for me. When they were asked in primary school, “doesn't it bother you that your mother is in a wheelchair or that she has an iron leg?” they were telling me that “I am the most beautiful”...
I have always urged society to improve access for people with disabilities. It is ridiculous that those with a physical disability should face barriers such as stairs. Ramps don't cost more and signposts don't cost more. The EP should set a good example. We have money, we have political will and we have good intentions.