Date: 09/01/2023
Author Name: Tejashwini Havannavar
Qualifications: BA Philosophy, MA Philosophy, Logic-based Therapist (specialisation in Philosophical Counselling)
Designation: Former Consultant Counsellor, ACRO Mental Health Services.
Word count: 533 words
Reading time: 6 mins
Reviewed by: Sareem Athar and Aishwarya Krishna Priya
In India, the topic of mental health is still received by raised eyebrows, big eyes and the judgemental mindset of someone being a “lunatic” no wonder India is one of the most depressing countries in the world! Judging people for their struggles adds to people’s suffering, making them believe that talking about their feelings will always be looked down upon (1). Hence, it is better to shut themselves up, which brings loneliness, frustration, and depression (2).
As the pandemic came around the corner, people's mental health deteriorated, and they were forced to live in closed spaces, in those four walls, without any external stimulation, which led to depression (3). As social beings, we are inherited to socialise and make people around us feel belongingness, which was uprooted due to the pandemic. As the issue of mental health is always neglected, the pandemic made situations worse in India (4).
India is currently home to a population of over a billion thousand people, a study conducted by WHO in 2015 shows that one in five Indians suffer from depression; due to a lack of awareness, stigma and poor access to professional help, very few would be able to access support for their illness (5). Stigma, lack of understanding and poor access are one set of problems, and the other side to this is there are 0.03 psychiatrists to 0.07 patients, which means that India has a poor number of mental healthcare providers, which in turn puts pressure on healthcare providers (6).
Mental health problems do not come in categories; they can affect us at any given point, at any given age and under any given circumstance; hence it becomes important to focus on initiatives that can help people gain access to professional help. India suffers largely due to a lack of awareness and stigma, there is enough evidence to see that people are shamed when they talk about their feelings and emotions. It is natural to isolate and hide from your issues when you are looked down upon (7).
There is a lack of professionals, which is also a part of the problem while battling stigma. The number of psychologists, psychiatrists and mental health professionals is comparatively less than the number of people suffering from mental illness which puts lots of pressure on mental healthcare providers. As there is a lack of resources, people who want to seek help find it difficult to know where to go for help (8).
According to the World Health Organisation, India's mental health workforce is poorly staffed. There is a significant shortage of psychiatrists and psychologists compared to the number of patients suffering from mental health issues (9). According to the international organisation's data, there are only three psychiatrists and psychologists for every 1,00,000 people. Roughly 56 million Indians suffer from depression, and 38 million suffer from some anxiety disorder. India has one of the highest prevalences of mental illnesses globally (10).
These are certain facts and statistics to show what the situation is about mental health. Several research, surveys and data are available to see where we lack and how we can make mental health inclusive and accessible to people (11).
Audio-visual credits:
(1)Photo by Susan Wilkinson on Unsplash
(2)Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
(3)Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
(4) Photo by Andreea Popa on Unsplash
(5)Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash
REFERENCES
1. Murney MA, Sapag JC, Bobbili SJ, Khenti A. Stigma and discrimination related to mental health and substance use issues in primary health care in Toronto, Canada: a qualitative study. Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being [Internet]. 2020;15(1):1744926. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2020.1744926
2. Neha. Like186 Comments, Neha., Budiarko AA, Chakraborty P, Salas D. Mental health in India [Internet]. Voices of Youth. 2021 [cited 2023Jan6]. Available from: https://www.voicesofyouth.org/blog/mental-health-india
3. O’Connor DB, Wilding S, Ferguson E, Cleare S, Wetherall K, McClelland H, et al. Effects of COVID-19-related worry and rumination on mental health and loneliness during the pandemic: longitudinal analyses of adults in the UK COVID-19 mental health & wellbeing study. J Ment Health [Internet]. 2022;1–12. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2022.2069716
4. India's mental health epidemic: Deteriorating amidst the pandemic [Internet]. Towson University Journal of International Affairs. 2021 [cited 2023Jan9]. Available from: https://wp.towson.edu/iajournal/2021/05/10/indias-mental-health-epidemic-deteriorating-amidst-the-pandemic/
5. Khandelwal SK, Jhingan HP, Ramesh S, Gupta RK, Srivastava VK. India mental health country profile. Int Rev Psychiatry [Internet]. 2004;16(1–2):126–41. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09540260310001635177
6. 5 charts that reveal how India sees mental health [Internet]. World Economic Forum. [cited 2023Jan9]. Available from: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/04/5-charts-that-reveal-how-india-sees-mental-health/
7. Harvard Health. [cited 2023Jan9]. Available from: https://www.health.harvard.edu/topics/mental-health
8. Thelwell K. What you need to know about mental health in India [Internet]. The Borgen Project. Kim Thelwell https://borgenproject.org/wp-content/uploads/logo.jpg; 2019 [cited 2023Jan9]. Available from: https://borgenproject.org/mental-health-in-india/
9. Garg K, Kumar CN, Chandra PS. Number of psychiatrists in India: Baby steps forward, but a long way to go. Indian J Psychiatry [Internet]. 2019 [cited 2023 Jan 23];61(1):104–5. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_7_18
10. Rana R. The Mental Health Epidemic: About 56 million Indians suffer from depression [Internet]. The Logical Indian. The Logical Indian; 2021 [cited 2023Jan9]. Available from: https://thelogicalindian.com/mentalhealth/mental-health-indians-30811
11. Singh UA. Disentangling India’s mental health distress: Does India have the resources to control the impending mental health crisis? [Internet]. Research Matters. 2020 Available from: https://researchmatters.in/news/disentangling-india%E2%80%99s-mental-health-distress-does-india-have-resources-control-impending-mental
DISCLAIMER
Although the articles published on our website are not scholarly peer-reviewed journal articles, we aim to provide readers with authentic information on mental health and the daily problems of the 21st century. All content caters to the South Asian population living in India and other countries. We refer to other population groups and ethnicities but do not discriminate against any individual or group.
Some of our write-ups are creative pieces and have all narrative styles. Some articles are not monologues but academic-style essays that cite scholarly articles. Moreover, our content is for all age groups. If we have pieces that require parental advisory, we will put up a cautionary statement.
The above information has been written by a qualified mental health professional or journalist. It has been reviewed by a panel of experienced, qualified, skilled and trained news editors, journalists and mental health professionals. All precautionary measures have been taken to ensure that these articles are not just casual write-ups from youngsters. This is an informal method of sharing important information on the web, so one must seek the positive side of the articles shared on our website.
We also understand that not everyone will be happy to read our information or have qualms about the use of our language. However, we can assure you that our intentions are not to hurt anyone. Moreover, if you have any valuable feedback that you would like to share as a member of the audience or an avid reader of our blog posts, please write back to us at info@mentalhealthservicesacro.com.
All articles are purely for information and educational purposes only. Please remember that everything we share promotes positivity, but not everything shared on our website may work in your favour. All tips and tricks to tackle your issues may have negative outcomes, so please be mindful when you try something on your own without proper guidance or professional supervision. If you happen to be facing a mental health issue or disorder, we request you to seek professional help from the nearest mental health service provider available in your city.
We, the authors or publishers, do not claim responsibility for any harm caused to viewers and readers due to our choice of words or published posts. Furthermore, we will vehemently disregard any abusive language or comments shared by some readers for any given reason and take necessary steps to curb such uncivil behaviours.
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION AND INFRINGEMENT
All contents of the website, blog posts, main texts, captions, and ideas are the intellectual property of ACRO Mental Health & Wellness and individual writers. We have taken special care in trying to reference all our work to avoid plagiarism or online trolls. We have used references of audio-visual content that does not infringe on anyone’s IP nor belong to us in some cases, but have given due credit to every individual and site that we referred to before writing our articles. Any unauthorised copying, publishing, or circulation of this content is illegal and will be subject to legal consequences as per the jurisdiction of the Indian Copyright Act.
Comments