NEW YORK -- One aspect not frequently considered of the Sept. 11 World Trade Center tragedy, the anthrax scare, and thousands of people fleeing in terror from Afghanistan is that these events may create or exacerbate mental health problems. Unless they are properly treated, many among those involved could be left with permanent psychological scars.
This situation gives special significance to a recent report from the World Health Organization titled "Mental Health: New Understanding, New Hope." The report calls attention to one of the most serious public health problems on a global scale: the magnitude of mental health problems that are left undiagnosed and unaddressed, and which are the cause of unnecessary suffering and even death.
It is estimated that 120 million people globally suffer from depression, 50 million from epilepsy, 37 million from Alzheimer's disease and 24 million from schizophrenia. About one million people worldwide commit suicide every year, and approximately 20 million unsuccessfully attempt suicide.