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Beautiful Mind

It is hard to come to terms with the fact in the face of the sheer burst of joy and…

Beautiful Mind

Mental health (Photo: iStock)

It is hard to come to terms with the fact in the face of the sheer burst of joy and festive spirits across the country that one in every five Indians possibly suffers from depression in a lifetime, a number put out by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is not so difficult to accept that no more than 10 to 12 per cent get treated, as established by the National Mental Health Survey in India (2015-16).

Promotion of wellness of any kind is at a discount in resource-starved India and mental health, in all its insidiousness, has just begun to come into reckoning for any strategic planning. The tragedy is multiplied by the utter lack of awareness of the torturous dimensions of mental health, which is as integral to the realisation of the nation’s human potential as any physical ailment. The mind being invisible merits little attention even though every aspect of the Indian environment impacts on the struggle to manage one’s thoughts, emotions and their reflection in one’s behaviour and interactions.

Even the sturdiest mind has to struggle at some point of time. While physical illness is attributed to specific causes, the entire ecosystem, comprising one’s socio-cultural, economic, working, political and environmental world, along with administrative factors such as “national policies, social protection” and community social supports stamp their footprint on the mind.

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The Indian situation is exacerbated by acute financial deprivation and poor education that can play havoc with psychological and personality factors and make large segments of the population more vulnerable. Topping these are genetic factors and it is a blessing that this weird concatenation of circumstances and the “schizo culture” that it breeds leaves four out of five mentally unscathed.

To revisit the WHO estimates, the burden of India’s mental health is at 2,443 disability-adjusted life year (DALY) per 100,000 population and the age-adjusted suicide rate per 100,000 population at 21.1. The economic loss on account of these debilitating conditions between 2012-2030 is $1.03 trillion (2010 rate). That mental health is a focal point of the Sustainable Development Goals indicates that earnestness with issues of the mind are being viewed.

The unsustainability of the Indian proposition, however, is underscored by the paucity of help at hand. The mental health workforce per 100,000 population is as low as 0.3 psychiatrists; 0.12 nurses; 0.07 psychologists and 0.07 social workers. One is grateful that after years of agitation, the government has a Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 that makes it compulsory for insurers to cover such disorders. For the average Indian though, anyone a little out of sync with the rest is denigrated as a pagal. It is this societal enfeeblement of the otherwise beautiful mind that presents the greatest threat.

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