摘要:An estimated 450 million people suffer from mental or neurological disorders or from psychosocial problems such as those related to alcohol and drug abuse. Many of them suffer silently. Many suffer alone. Many never receive treatment of any kind. Between the suffering and the prospect of care stand the barriers of stigma, prejudice, shame and exclusion. In devoting "The World Health Report 2001" to mental health, WHO is making one clear, emphatic statement. Mental health - neglected for far too long - is crucial to the overall well-being of individuals, societies and countries and must be universally regarded in a new light.; This book is a landmark report that aims to raise professional and public awareness of the real burden of mental and neurological disorders and the cost in human, social and economic terms. It aims to dismantle many of those barriers which prevent millions of sufferers from receiving the treatment they need and deserve.; The report comes at a critical time for the mental health of the world. One person in every four will be affected by a mental disorder at some stage of life. Major depression already ranks fourth in the leading ten causes of the global burden of disease. If projections are correct, within the next 20 years it will have risen to second place. Globally, 70 million people suffer from alcohol dependency. About 50 million have epilepsy; another 24 million have schizophrenia. Between ten and 20 million people attempt suicide every year. One million of them - including many who are very young - do kill themselves.
