Why is Mental Health a Taboo in India?
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.
I didn’t understand the gravity of this sentence until a recent episode that not just made me aware but also opened by eyes to the endless stigma around this issue. One night suddenly a friend of mine called me around 1 am. She was completely frantic and in tears and I felt helpless talking to her. Even after asking her repeatedly about her situation, she couldn’t reply properly, she said she also didn’t know what was going on with her. I knew only one comforting sentence and that was “don’t worry everything will be okay”. After this she also knew that I couldn’t really help her in anyway, so within the next few minutes she just cut the call.
That entire night I was thinking of scenarios in my head, wondering what was really up with her. Was it some family issue, a heartbreak, performance pressure or something else, I wasn’t sure? The next day when I talked to her she told me that she assumed that she was suffering from anxiety and it was one of those moments when it went beyond control. Instantly on hearing this I told her to get help from a psychiatrist and this really made her chuckle. She said that in our country you don’t visit a therapist unless you are completely crazy.
According to the World Health Organization, 7.5% of India’s population which is around 90 million individuals suffer from some form of mental illness yet the government spends close to 33 paisa on each individual patient per year. This data really shocked me because we Indians spend ample amount of time discussing the marriage and breakups of our favorite celebrities and we are failing in talking about the problems that millions of people are facing. What is the reason for this blatant ignorance of a rather serious problem?
What is mental health?
Even today most of us are not clear about what mental health really is. We assume that if a person has the basic amenities in life and is happy around people, they are mentally healthy. But this is far from the truth! Mental health is a combination of how we think, feel and act. It includes our emotional, psychological and social well-being. It is more than just the absence of mental disorders or disabilities.
Mental health is as important as our physical health because it affects our mood, thinking and behavior. If a person is mentally in a good place, the live life in a better and happier way. Each day is far more productive and joyful. Mental health problems are not something that are easily seen on the surface, they can be buried deep inside as well. It may be caused by a reaction to environmental stresses, genetic factors, biochemical imbalances, or a combination of these.
In India the most common mental health problems are depression, anxiety, bipolar mood disorder, Schizophrenia and eating disorders. These may not seem a like major life-threatening diseases or disorders but when 1 in 5 individuals are suffering from these problems, I for one strongly believe that it’s high time that these issues are discussed in public space and not just behind closed doors.
The problems related to mental health mostly start at a young age of 14 to 24 years. These years are integral parts of person’s life and play a major role in shaping their future. The reasons for the start of these problems can be anything ranging from long term acute stress, biological factors, drug abuse and overdose, cognitive behavior like constant negative thoughts, social or financial problems, isolation, etc. But a common denominator in all the cases would be lack of proper conversation and awareness about these problems.
What is the problem?
In a country where anything trivial can become a topic of discussion somehow the conversation around mental is still limited to forums on Instagram and Facebook. This begs a major question that what is stopping us Indians to discuss this issue seriously? On the contrary, we are quick to judge and belittle people who are suffering from these mental illnesses.
Instead of battling the illness itself, unfortunately these patients have to battle the stigma around these diseases more often.
Since childhood, we are taught that showing our emotional side and shedding tears is a sign of weakness and cowardice. So, most of us believe that it is preferable to bury our feelings than to share it with someone. This pressure is so much that youngsters find it really difficult to share about their struggles even with their family and friends. This is one of the major reasons why around 70–90% of cases remain untreated in India, thus making India the leader in teenage suicides globally.
I remember that when the Happiness Index Report of 2020 was announced most of us deemed it as bogus and insignificant due to India’s abysmal performance in that arena. But if we look a little closely, we will understand that the happiness index is very closely related to emotional and mental well-being of the population. In the past few decades, people are becoming more and more materialistic and the primary focus of almost everyone is hoarding maximum wealth and economic success.
We have started evaluating our own worth in terms of our successes, be it qualifying competitive exams, bagging a promotion, travelling to exotic locations, etc. Sadly, most of these things are not for our own happiness, but for proving to our family and friends that we are living a luxurious life. This narrow vision focus on economic success is an important factor in deteriorating our mental health by adding stress and pressure on us from a very young age.
What should we do?
Yes, there are thousands of problems, but the most important question is what is the solution? The answer to this question is not that simple as it is engrained in us since childhood that these problems are a sign of weakness. To change the situation and actually make India a happier place, merely starting a conversation on social media is not sufficient. We need to start from the basics and initiate change from the ground level.
The first state towards change is acceptance. We need to first accept that mental health is an important topic which needs to be discussed. This discussion should start from childhood wherein children and teenagers are actually encouraged to share their problems with adults and that they will be heard and not mocked or judged. Side by side, we need to start encouraging people to seek professional help instead of punching them down for speaking up about their issues.
I believe that we can begin by having counsellors and advisors in schools and colleges who are open to listening and advising students on any problems that they might be facing. It is also equally essential to make mental health treatment accessible to the masses by employing more professionals in government hospitals so that even the poor can afford these services.
However, these solutions are on a much larger scale and it will take its due course to get implemented. What we can do today is being more considerate towards the people around us who might be suffering from these issues. Instead of diagnosing them ourselves or by giving them unsolicited advice, we can extend our help by recommending them to a professional source. It is a long process of accepting and helping that might continue for years to come, but for any change to happen we need to start right away!
