By Tolit Ivan
A new report by the Gulu Regional Referral Hospital Mental Health Unit has revealed that more educated people in the sub region are developing mental illness, a vice being blamed on unemployment.
According to the report, the victims are majorly being diagnosed with alcohol and drug disorder as a result of high consumption of drugs and alcohol.
Bruno Atyang , the Principal Clinical Psychiatric Officer who also the in Charge of the Hospital Mental Health Unit, said the hospital is registering between 700- 1,000 cases of mental illness on a monthly basis with majorly of the victims being educated people who have resorted to alcohol and drug abuse due to lack of jobs.
According to Atyang, the situation is alarming that needs concerted efforts to address the vice since most of the victims are reluctant to seek for medical treatment.
Recently, local authorities in Industrial Area Cell, Bardege- Layibi Division in Gulu City raised concerns over a disturbing trend where women have resorted to alcohol consumption to cope with daily stress including fending for their families, loan pressure, school fees and accumulated house rent amid the hard economic situation.
Mental health experts have linked the rampant cases of mental illness in Acholi sub-region to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to experts, the LRA- led violence in Northern Uganda left hundreds of civilians traumatized as a result of what they experienced during the war.
