Mental Health: Still a Taboo in India

Almost everywhere in the world, mental illness is a taboo. According to the World Health Organization, every 40 seconds we lose a person to suicide. Though some parts of the world are educating their citizens, my worry boils down to my home country, India. Though, Indian society has progressed and shown staggering improvements in many aspects since its independence such as women performing Sati, child marriages etc, it is far from a utopian society. The battle against social stigmas is one of the many things that needs to be improved. Additionally, discussing and accepting mental illness is still a taboo in this country. Mental illness is highly probable and some of the most common forms are: fear, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, insomnia, PTSD, schizophrenia, amongst others. Mental illness is like any other disease, you do not choose it. If you can go to the hospital for a stomach ache, why can’t you go to a psychologist when you’re anxious? Why is it that people would rather suffer in silence than seek help for their mental illness since it can be cured to a great extent?

According to India’s latest mental health survey report, 200 million people (equivalent to every 1 in 5 Indian) suffer from mental illness. Moreover, there are just 0.3 psychiatrists, 0.07 psychologists, and 0.07 social workers per 100,000 people in India. This statistic is mind-boggling because the scarcity in this department is suggestive of the lackadaisical and conservative attitude of people. While filling the gaps of these structural issues is necessary, it still wouldn’t help if people aren’t comfortable in talking about their emotions. Time and again we hear non-comforting things from people such as “you must be crazy if you’re going to a psychologist”, “don’t take her seriously, she’s mentally ill”, “you should get treated in a mental hospital because you say abysmal things all the time” etc. Don’t label them as lunatics or psychopaths. The patient is not purposely filling their minds with negative thoughts or isn’t purposely feeling uncomfortable and anxious, so don’t joke about this. They need you to comfort them and tell them that everything will be alright, just go to the right person for help. Mocking their illness sinks their confidence further, and more often than not leads to suicidal thoughts. You never know what might stick with a person even if it was a sarcastic comment. If all this makes sense, then follow these three steps to make this world better for people struggling with a mental illness: educate yourself, empathise with others, and don’t discriminate.

In my opinion, the state must intervene in creating a safe place to reduce the stigma around mental health. Efficient allocation of resources by the government to sensitize citizens in the form of educational campaigns especially in rural areas, embedding the importance of mental health in school curriculums, subsidizing the costs for psychologists and psychiatrists to encourage them to supply more of their services should be amongst the first few steps. Creating incentives such as health insurance policy for people suffering from mental illness and establishing peer networks where people can come together and talk about their problems would instil a need amongst people to get help.