Mental health stakeholders urge public to drop ‘crazy’ label

Stakeholders involved in mental health care are urging Vincentians to drop the label ‘crazy’ from their vocabulary when addressing matters related to mental health, particularly in workplace environments.

World Mental Health Day, was observed on October 10, 2024, under the theme ‘Mental Health at Work’, and the Witness Care Officer in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution, Corporal Elroy Quammie, made a call for police officers especially to seek out assistance in managing the stress they encounter on the job, considering the incidents of crime occurring across the country.

Speaking on the October 10, Cop Chat programme on WEFM 99.9, Corporal Quammie said the public needs to “get rid of the mindset” that persons who experience mental health challenges are crazy, especially since workplace environments can lead to increased levels of stress.

“Police officers are traumatized as well being on the job. Being traumatized from crime scenes, different types of murders, dealing with victims who are basically transferring their feelings on to you,” he said.

“There may be a lot of police officers who may be traumatized, and they still have to put on their uniforms and get out there and get their job done. It is very important to have professionals who understand and are able to identify these symptoms and signs to address them to increase productivity.”

Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) coordinator, Andrea Hazell, echoed similar sentiments, saying that in the Vincentian society, there is a lot of stigma associated with mental health.

“Mental health in our cultural context is taboo… they associate it with craziness.”

She explained that the EAP was established to ensure that public servants have resources to address mental health challenges in the workplace, also explaining that the location of the office at Rose Place in the capital, Kingstown, is intentional to ensure that public servants can feel comfortable coming in.

“The government recognized that prior to the EAP there was uncertainty as to what avenues were available to public servants to address their mental health needs and … I think persons should take advantage of it,” she said.

“It was initially placed down there because counselling has a stigma associated with it, so we placed it there out of the mainstream of public service [so people] would have a bit of privacy coming to that location,” Hazell added.

Corporal Quammie said the EAP is one that police officers and other professionals have been making use of.

“If it is that you feel as a police officer that you have to speak to someone immediately, you can contact me at the DPP Office,” she said.

“I know for a fact that a lot of police officers are taking advantage of this opportunity. I advise professionals, police officers, to take advantage of the resources available to them.”