Over 1.2 million Iranians suffer from acute psychological disorders, said a health official on Tuesday.
The head of the Tehran Institute of Psychiatry, Ali Bolehri, said that based on the latest data, 23 percent of Tehran residents suffer from various psychological disorders, as do 40-60 percent of Iranians who seek professional help, the official Iranian news agency, IRNA, quoted him as saying.
The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) announced last year that worldwide, mental afflictions such as anxiety, substance use disorders and mood swings are occurring in greater frequency and affecting people as young as 15 years of age.
According to an international psychiatric study sponsored by WHO, mental disease often begins during teenage years and afflicts many sufferers for the rest of their lives.
Almost half of those who are ill do not seek help, and most are not treated at all, the study reported, cited by the agency – Albawaba.com
