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MENTAL HEALTH

MENTAL HEALTH

Good mental health is indispensable for the holistic well-being of people. Mental illnesses contribute 18.5% of the global disease burden including depression, anxiety and neuro-psychiatric disorders. Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted that poor mental health incapacitates communities and erodes productivity of the nation besides imposing huge economic costs. The absence of adequate infrastructure, accessibility, and awareness is a major roadblock in the development of Mental Healthcare in India, that requires serious attention.

Status of Mental Healthcare in India

• Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences cognition, perception, and behaviour. It also determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making.
• Any disturbance in mental health affects the cognition, perception, and behaviour of a person to a greater extent.
• In India, according to National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences data, more than 80% of people do not have access to mental healthcare services for a multitude of reasons.

Initiatives by Government of India

• National Mental Health Program (NMHP): The National Mental Health Program (NMHP) was adopted by the government in 1982 in response to the large number of mental disorders and shortage of mental health professionals.
• Kiran Helpline: In 2020, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment launched a 24/7 toll-free helpline 'Kiran' to provide mental health support.
• Manodarpan Initiative: It aimed at providing psychosocial support to students, teachers, and family members during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• MANAS Mobile App: To promote mental wellbeing across age groups, the Government of India launched MANAS (Mental Health and Normalcy Augmentation System) in 2021.

Challenges Related to Mental Health in India

• Poverty Adding Vulnerability: Most strongly associated factors with mental disorders are deprivation and poverty. Individuals with lower levels of education, low household income, lack of access to basic amenities are at high risk of mental disorder.
• Education System and Mental Health: Due to lack of stress on personalised and holistic educational structure in India, a large % of students show signs of mental disorders. Shockingly, every 1 hour a student commits suicide in India.
• Lack of Awareness: Most of the mental health patients are not aware that it is actually a disease of concern and remain untreated. Poor awareness about symptoms of mental illness, myths & stigma related to it, lack of knowledge on the treatment availability & potential benefits of seeking treatment, makes a large number of patients deprived of care.

 

Solutions for Mental Health in India

• Inclusive and Resilient Healthcare Infrastructure: There is a need to build more inclusive and resilient healthcare infrastructure incorporating mental health aspects with emphasis on collective social health, access to affordable and quality care based on human rights and with psycho-social approach rather than following the traditional biomedical paradigm.
• Mental Health Awareness: It is crucial to deconstruct the stigma related to mental disorder, through targeted awareness-raising and outreach through campaigns, utilising celebrities and social influencers.
• Expansion of Yoga and Meditation Centres: Expansion of yoga and meditation would also provide enormous relief. Their capacities can be built by civil society in collaboration with community-based organisations, but these initiatives have to be strongly supported by the Government.
• Concerted Suicide Prevention Strategy: India needs a ‘Concerted Suicide Prevention Strategy’ at the national, state and local level. At school level, Mentor-mentee programmes can be introduced to allow students to express themselves freely to their mentors and prevent them from falling into mental disorder pitfalls.
• De-Stigmatizing Mental Health: This apathy can be mitigated if the focus shifts from viewing mental health as a negative concept to a social responsibility of improving health literacy, setting up self-help groups, and providing emotional support to the concerned.