Rising Mental Health Issues in India

Context

Recently the Economic Survey 2023-24 flagged a rise in mental health issues among Indians, calling for a paradigm shift towards a bottom-up approach to address the problem.

Status of Mental health related issues in India

• According to the National Mental Health Survey (NMHS) 2015-16 statistics, 10.6% of adults suffered from mental issues in India whilst the treatment gap for mental issues ranged between 70-92% for several issues.
• The incidence of mental morbidity was higher in city metro regions (13.5%) as compared to rural regions (6.9%) and urban non-metro areas (4.3%).
• peoples aged 25-44 years are the most laid low with mental illnesses,
• According to the NCERT’s Mental Health and Well-being of School Students Survey, there may be an increasing incidence of poor mental health amongst kids, exacerbated by means of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 11% of students said as feeling anxious, 14% as feeling severe emotion and forty three% skilled mood swings. 

Causes of Mental Illness

• Exposure to unfavourable social, monetary, geopolitical and environmental circumstances along with poverty, violence, inequality and environmental deprivation will increase a people’s risk of experiencing mental health conditions.
• The pandemic-led lockdowns and the uncertainties associated with them have had an unfavourable effect on mental well-being.
• Overuse of the net: Unrestrained and unsupervised use of the internet by way of children can culminate in a number of issues, from the more frequent obsessive consumption of social media or ‘doom scrolling’ to intense ones which includes cyberbullying.
• Early adverse life reports, along with trauma or a records of abuse (for example, toddler abuse, sexual assault, witnessing violence, etc.)
• Use of alcohol or drugs, having feelings of loneliness or isolation, and so on.

Concerns

• Mental health issues affect the quality of life of an individual and constrain the realization of an individual’s potential. 
• At an aggregate financial level, mental health disorders are associated with considerable productivity losses due to absenteeism, reduced productivity, incapacity, and accelerated healthcare costs.
• Also the lack of knowledge about mental health and the stigma surrounding it render any programme unfeasible.

Government of India Initiatives 

• National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) in 1982: To ensure the availability and accessibility of minimal mental healthcare for all in the foreseeable future.
• Mental Healthcare Act, 2017: The act decriminalised suicide tries in India and additionally protected WHO recommendations in the categorisation of mental illnesses.
  • The most significant provision within the act became “superior directives”, which allowed people with mental illnesses to determine the course in their treatment. 
  • It additionally restrained the use of electro-convulsive therapy (ECT), and banned its use on minors, finally introducing measures to tackle stigma in Indian society.
• Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2017: The Act recognizes mental contamination as an incapacity and seeks to enhance the Rights and Entitlements of the Disabled.
• Manodarpan Initiative: An initiative below Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, targets to provide psycho-social help to college students for his or her mental health and well-being.
• Kiran Helpline: The helpline is a step in the direction of suicide prevention, and can assist with support and disaster control.

Way Ahead

• The Economic survey suggested that effective pathways for integrating mental health interventions in colleges can consist of growing an age-suitable mental health curriculum for instructors and college students, encouraging early intervention and high-quality language in faculties, promoting community-level interactions, and balancing the function of generation.
• Need to increase psychiatrists’ numbers: Doubling the efforts to increase the range of psychiatrists, from 0.75 psychiatrists per lakh people in 2021 to the WHO norm of three psychiatrists per lakh people.
• The report burdened on developing comprehensive pointers for the excellence facilities’ offerings along with mental healthcare specialists.
• Also there’s a want for nurturing peer help networks, self-assist companies, and network-primarily based rehabilitation programmes to destigmatize mental issues and develop a sense of belongingness of their sufferers.
• Making mental health a fundamental part of the general public health programme: to assist display and identify high-threat organizations and beef up mental health interventions like counseling services.

Source: The Hindu