State of Mental Health in India,
stigmas attached to it and steps that
need to be taken
World Mental Health Day is on October 10. This subject seems personal to me,
and when I hear about it, I feel comforted to know that, at the very least, it has
received some acknowledgment in our hectic life. It was very recently recognized,
in 1992.
Let me use a brief example to illustrate the significance of this subject. A
youngster by the name of Jeetan just celebrated his 17th birthday. He has been
feeling uneasy for a while now. He occasionally experiences euphoria before
suddenly breaking down in tears. He used to be a brilliant photographer, but in
recent months, he has completely lost interest in his passion. Both his parents put
in a lot of effort to run the household. He is not financially independent. He has a
small group of friends, nevertheless he is slowly drowning in his increasing social
isolation. Additionally, he has certain childhood traumas that have not been
resolved in his life to this point. For most of the time, he feels helpless. One day he
finds out online that maybe his feelings are tied to a mental health condition and
that he requires therapy. He learns that a therapy session costs around a thousand
rupees. He becomes utterly demoralized and ends his life in a message explaining
that while he did not want to put further stress on his parents, he was unable to live
with the heavy feeling in his heart and hence committed such a drastic measure. In
this story, three lives are lost only because discussing mental health is important
and costly.
Sadly, this depicts most individuals in our nation. The magnitude of the problem
confronting India, a country with a diverse and rich heritage, might seem
overwhelming. Only 0.75 psychiatrists are available to treat every 100,000 patients
in the world's second-most populated country, and the WHO estimates that the cost
of mental illness would cost the global economy $1.03 trillion between 2012 and
2030.
Consider various mental conditions like OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) or
ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). I want you to take a moment upon
completing this article to evaluate how much you currently know about these
illnesses. These ailments are among the most misunderstood ones in the category
of mental health issues, in my personal experience. Beyond these, there are plenty
others. With this little illustration, I am only aiming to highlight the extent to
which problems are misunderstood, which, incidentally, results in more chronic
illnesses.
The National Mental Health Policy of India was introduced by the Ministry of
Family and Health Welfare in October 2014. The estimated overall health budget
for this fiscal year (2022-2023) is 86,200.65 crore, or around 2.18 percent of
India's GDP. Less than 1% of this money goes toward the national budget for
mental health. Nevertheless, there have also been some remarkable initiatives
recently, and the funding for the National Digital Health Mission has expanded
from 30 to 200 crores, but there is still tremendous work to be accomplished. Due
to a lack of awareness and sensitivity among the public, many continue to be
reluctant to seek medical attention for their problems.
I have already provided a sufficient number of facts and data to demonstrate why
this issue must be addressed, but what comes next? How will we as a country deal
with it all? What steps should our country take together to reduce the stigma
attached to this issue? We are all aware that there are too many stereotypes
associated with this problem, and despite our best efforts, we inevitably fall victim
to this vicious cycle at some point in our lives. In this situation, empathy, in my
opinion, is crucial. I have discovered that as we mature, our sub-conscious ability
for empathy decreases. Consider how many times you have truly listened to a
friend, lover, or other person vent their frustrations or difficulties without
responding with your own problems or offering them unsolicited advice.
Do you send someone to the hospital if they are seriously injured in an accident or
do you start bragging about how dreadful your injuries were in compared to theirs?
Stop if you are doing the latter. When someone opens to you about their issues,
exhaustion, loss of appetite, etc., you should respond with empathy in the same
manner that you would at that time. I acknowledge that not everyone is a good
listener at this point. Once more, you should take the mentally ill person to the
appropriate doctor in the same way that you take the physically injured person.
This is when therapy starts to be helpful. But at this time, we also learn that not
everyone can afford treatments since they are expensive. I want to emphasize once
more that the government must boost the budget for mental health because the
problem is enormous and the funding is inadequate. In order to make life insurance
more inclusive of our general health, I think it is a great idea to incorporate mental
health insurance in it.
Primary Prevention, Secondary Prevention, and Tertiary Prevention are the several
levels of mental health prevention. When they see a doctor, they learn about their
stage. There is a myth that marriage solves all problems; in most cases, the belief
holds that the female will transform the arrogant boy's life after marriage. Every
day in every other family, this notion is debunked, yet it persists in it anyway. The
institution of marriage is a wonderful one, but everything that is forced instantly
turns ugly. The idea of mental illness has frequently been misrepresented in many
movies. This has a negative impact on society as a whole and impacts a lot of
individuals in the wrong way.
Today, social networks, community organizations, psychologists, psychiatrists, and
healthy family and friends all play important roles in an individual's mental wellbeing. As stated in the theme for 2022, "Make mental health for all a worldwide
priority," this must be given high attention.