The World Health Organisation asserts that India’s suicide rate in 2019, standing at 12.9 per 1,00,000, exceeds not only the regional average of 10.2 but also the global mean of 9.0. Alarmingly, suicide has emerged as the leading cause of death amongst those aged 15–29 in India. While each life lost to suicide is a tragedy, it is merely the apex of a broader mental health crisis afflicting the nation, primarily young adults and women.
Status of Mental Health in India: An Area of Concern
Mental health is an umbrella term encompassing emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It significantly influences cognition, perception, and behavior, and ultimately determines how an individual manages stress, forges interpersonal relationships and makes decisions. However, as per the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences data, over 80% of Indians lack access to mental healthcare services due to various reasons.
Glimpse of Government Initiatives towards Mental Health Enhancement
In 1982, acknowledging the widespread prevalence of mental disorders and scarcity of mental health professionals, the government adopted the National Mental Health Program (NMHP). The Mental Health Care Act 2017 further guarantees every afflicted person’s right to mental healthcare and treatment from government institutions. To enhance mental health support, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment launched a 24/7 toll-free ‘Kiran’ helpline in 2020, followed by the MANAS (Mental Health and Normalcy Augmentation System) mobile app in 2021.
Contemporary Issues Associated with Mental Health
A substantial rise in certain types of social media use is elevating stress and mental illness levels in youth, eroding face-to-face relations and discouraging investment in meaningful activities. The Covid-19 pandemic further intensifies mental health disorders, potentially increasing depression prevalence by 28% and anxiety by 26% between 2020 and 2021. There are pronounced rises among younger age groups due to factors such as uncertainty, financial and job losses, grief, increased childcare burdens, school closures, and social isolation.
Impact of Poverty on Mental Health
A close connection exists between poor mental health and poverty, with people living in poverty more likely to experience mental health conditions. Conversely, individuals suffering from severe mental health conditions are susceptible to poverty through employment loss and escalating healthcare costs.
Challenges Due to Insufficient Mental Health Infrastructure
With less than 2% of the government health budget earmarked for mental health issues and only a limited number of WHO-prescribed mental health medications included in the list of essential medicines, there is a glaring lack of resources. This has resulted in only 20-30% of individuals with mental illnesses receiving adequate treatment.
Potential Strategies to Revamp India’s Approach Towards Mental Health
There is a pressing need for a comprehensive, well-resourced societal approach to protecting and caring for our citizen’s mental health. This approach should be founded upon four main pillars: destigmatizing mental health, incorporating mental health into public health programs, building robust mental health infrastructure, and working on affordability aspects.
Addressing Stigma Around Mental Health
It’s crucial to eliminate the deep-seated stigma around mental health issues, preventing timely treatment and making patients feel isolated and weak.
Incorporating Mental Health in Public Health Programme
Integrating mental health into the public health programme can help reduce stress, promote a healthy lifestyle, and identify high-risk groups. It can strengthen mental health interventions like counselling services. Special attention should be devoted to vulnerable groups such as victims of domestic or sexual violence, unemployed youth, marginal farmers, armed forces personnel and employees working under difficult conditions.
Enhancing Mental Health Infrastructure
There is a need to create robust mental health care and treatment infrastructure. Investments should be prioritized to fill the gaps in mental health infrastructure and human resources.
Making Mental Health Services Affordable
Mental health services must be made affordable for all, with an improved coverage that will lead to equitable service uptake and outcomes. Government health insurance schemes, including Ayushman Bharat, should cover the widest possible range of mental health conditions.