[EstaTim]

The main factor that is essential for understanding, treating and controlling any disease is the knowledge of its causes. Establishing the aetiology of a mental disorder, which is a major concern in the field of mental health. Some of the known agents, hosts and environments that cause mental disorders are, the organic conditions such as cerebral arteriod-clerosis, neoplasms, metabolic diseases, endocrine diseases and chronic disease such as tuberculosis, leprosy, epilepsy etc.

Some mental diseases are inherited due to hereditary factors. The social pathological causes are worries, anxieties, emotional stress, tension, frustration, unhappy marriages, poverty, urbanisation, industrialisation, cruelty and rejection. Rarely, other environmental factors such as toxic substances – carbon disulphide, mercury, manganese, tin, lead etc, Psychotropic drugs – barbiturates, alcohol, griseofulvin, Nutritional factors – deficiency of thiamine, pyridoxine, iodine, infective agents – infectious diseases like measles, rubella, traumatic factors – road and occupational accidents, radiation were also seen to cause mental illnesses.

When planning urban societies, it is not enough to create world-class infrastructure. Everything must be done with a human touch. The people living in the urban societies should not get sick due to the problems that they have to face in the urban societies.

The ‘Quality of Life Coalition’, an august body started by Dick Weekley campaigned for a healthy sustainable urban environment in Texas. People were drawn to this august body due to the non-partisan approach that it took for different issues. A major area of its operation was in identifying the key issues that caused the various mental and other health problems and evolving valuable solutions.