What India must do to solve its mental health crisis?

The first and foremost reason for India to lose its mental health is the lack of awareness and sensitivity about the issue. There is a big stigma around people suffering from any kind of mental health issues.

Be it autism and intellectual disability in childhood, adult conditions such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and psychosis or dementia in old age, the world is facing a challenge in the form of mental illness. According to an estimate by the World Health Organization (WHO), mental illness makes about 15% of the total disease conditions around the world. The same estimate also suggests that India has one of the largest populations affected from mental illness. As a result, WHO has labelled India as the world’s ‘most depressing country’. Moreover, between 1990 to 2017, one in seven people from India have suffered from mental illness ranging from depression, anxiety to severe conditions such as schizophrenia, according to a study. It is no exaggeration to suggest that the country is under a mental health epidemic.

The first and foremost reason for India to lose its mental health is the lack of awareness and sensitivity about the issue. There is a big stigma around people suffering from any kind of mental health issues. They are often tagged as ‘lunatics’ by the society. This leads to a vicious cycle of shame, suffering and isolation of the patients. Also, there is a serious shortage of mental healthcare workforce in India. According to WHO, in 2011, there were 0·301 psychiatrists and 0·047 psychologists for every 100,000 patients suffering from a mental health disorder in India. These issues aggravate the scale of the problem and need immediate redressal.

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Source : By Dr. Ramon Llamba - ETHealthWorld