Like other immigrant communities, Sikhs have their share of psychological and mental health problems. The ones living in Punjab have the indigenous problems whereas those living in the West have both Western as well as Eastern mental health problems. Such indigenous problems in Punjab include anxiety, alcoholism, addiction to drugs, chemical imbalance, post-third Holocaust (1984-1994) trauma, suicide, etc. Anxiety is caused by unproductive and unnecessary stress developed by worries concerning children, young daughters, constant nagging by wife jealousy of neighbors and distant relatives, unscrupulous spending by one spouse without consulting the other, high debts on farming land, joblessness of educated people, and joblessness among young people, etc.
Anxiety leads to depression, sleeplessness, loss of hunger and, ultimately, to suicide. Depression after abortion, and sterilization of males and females are rampant among Sikhs, especially in villages of Punjab. Such methods are going to decrease the overall population of the Sikhs, leading to drastic consequences in the future. Abortion is prevalent in whole of India due to ultrasound facility which shows the sex of the child. Female children are aborted due to dowry. Mutilation of any body-part is prohibited in Sikhs religiously. The Sikhs are not to deal with people who kill girls (kurimâr) according to the moral code. Also, the Sikhs are not to cut any part of their bodies, including hair, as it is the Will of God or Hukam - Rub da bhana. Then severance of male or female organs, is against Sikhs religion. Akal Takat and SGPC should help to stop such barbaric treatment of innocent women who undergo severe and uncontrollable pain and depression after abortion. Hukamnama should be enforced against female foeticide. Nobody seems to recognize the the mother’s paind and depression. Some women commit suicide. Infection of the reproductive organs sometimes also leads to sterility and death of already depressed person. The debt on farming land is becoming a major cause of suicide among Sikh farmers.
The Western people, especially Americans, are overloaded with daily work and some are "burnt out" due to stress. The industrial trade wars and fast information system have compounded the situation. Some Western people get panic attacks, dizziness, headaches, child abuse and neglect, phobias (fear), obsessive compulsive disorder (repetition of some ideas or works continuously), depression, bipolar disorder (mood swings), schizophrenia (different ideas in mind), bulimia (eating disorder), anorexia nervosa (loss of appetite), post traumatic disorder, personality disorder, dementia (loss of brain function), Alzheimer’s disease (loss of memory), etc. General causes of mental diseases are chemical imbalance of serotonin in brain, birth defect, brain trauma, and intolerable changes in environments and culture. Mental diseases can be recognized by their symptoms, such as delusion, depression, denial by patient, use of alcohol and drugs, sleeplessness, loss of hunger, avoiding and losing interest in friends, relatives and work, threatening others, increase in anger, threatening to commit suicide, deep anxiety, fear of jail, loss of money, emotional changes, shirking daily work, hallucination, keeping silent, change in behavior, loss of decision making ability, hostile behavior, headaches, etc. The presence of any one or more symptoms shows mental sickness. Treatment which varies according to symptoms, involves medicines such as Prozac, Zoloft, Luvox, etc. and psychotherapy with the help of a physician. Exercise, such as jogging an hour in the evening and morning, food, including all vitamins and minerals and lots of protein (pulses, eggs, cheese), fruits, vegetables, and staying happy, keep mental ailments away
