In recent days, information in the draft circular guiding the implementation of the Law on Disease Prevention of the Ministry of Health proposing to include factors such as study pressure, work pressure, prolonged stress in the monitoring area of mental disorder risk has quickly attracted public attention.
Many opinions expressed concern, even worrying that if "people under pressure at work" are put under psychiatric supervision, the scope of subjects will be too broad, because in modern society, almost everyone has to face pressure.
These reactions are understandable. Because in the common perception of society today, the two words "mental illness" still carry many prejudices, and the phrase "supervision" also easily makes people associate it with being monitored or being labeled with some kind of "label".
However, if you look at the true nature of the draft, you can see that the problem is not like that. The content that the Ministry of Health is seeking opinions on is actually building a system to monitor risk factors in the community to serve disease prevention work.
In public health, monitoring risk factors is a common method to detect health problems early before they become serious.
Looking from this perspective, putting risk factors into the monitoring system is not to label people as "mentally ill", but to help health agencies have more data to identify trends, detect vulnerable groups early and build appropriate preventive measures.
What still worries public opinion is not the goal of disease prevention, but the way of expression and policy implementation. Because if not explained clearly, the phrase "psychiatric surveillance" can easily create the feeling that all pressures in life are considered pathological.
Therefore, policies need to clearly define what is a noteworthy risk factor, while ensuring that the collection and use of information does not generate anxiety or stigma in society.
The positive thing is that the Ministry of Health is publishing a draft to gather broad opinions from experts, agencies and people. This shows that the policy-making process is still open and can be completely adjusted to both ensure science and create social consensus.
Mental health is increasingly becoming an important issue in modern life. Paying attention to it is necessary. But how to pay attention effectively and avoid misunderstandings is a matter that needs to be thoroughly discussed before policies become reality.
