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“Mental health isn’t a destination but a process.”- Anonymous

Every fifteen minutes someone dies from committing suicide. That’s roughly 38,000 suicides each year. To put things into almost twice as many people die from traffic fatalities in a year. According to WHO nearly 90% of all suicides are related to mental health illnesses. WHO claims that suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among 15–29-year-old. People suffering from severe mental health issues may die almost two decades early. 

WHAT IS MENTAL HEALTH?

WHO defines health as a state of physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease. 

PERSONAL AND COMMUNITY ISSUES BOTH MATTER FOR MENTAL HEALTH 

If health means a state of physical, mental, and social well-being, it cannot be something that each one of us can achieve entirely on our own. 

Human beings live in societies. Our social surroundings, hence, are an important factor in an individual’s health. Social equality and harmony are thus necessary. The best example of how our surroundings may have an effect on our mental health is the death of homeless people in the Reno area of Washoe County. The statistics of the death of people due to homelessness in Reno is given below. Almost 40% of them have died because of some or other mental health-related disorders. Washoe County’s Bethany Drysdale said ‘This is not just a statistic these are human lives with value. There are too many in our region lost to addiction, violence, and poor mental health, regardless of housing status.

MENTAL HEALTH STATUS IN INDIA 

The Deloitte study found that 80% of India’s workforce reported Mental health issues during the past few years. The study says that the most common mental health disorder in India is depression followed by anxiety. Many personalities in India such as Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Dilip Kumar, Parveen Babi, Jiah Khan, Honey Singh, and many more have battled depression and schizophrenia. 

According to reports, 15% of people suffering from mental health issues have suicidal tendencies. 

28% of global suicides are committed in India due to Mental health-related issues and yet in a survey conducted by Times of India 28% of people claimed that these suicides aren’t associated with mental health status. These numbers convey how in India discussions and awareness around mental health in India aren’t so common and the common man in our country isn’t even aware of disorders such as OCD, anxiety, schizophrenia, etc. WHO claims that India has less than 4,000 mental health professionals 

It is very sad to see that even the Indian government doesn’t have any data on how many Indians are suffering from these disorders and how many psychologists are clinically working in India. All these statistics are either from WHO or famous news reports.

STATUS OF MENTAL HEALTH OF INDIAN ADOLESCENTS 

“The children of today will make the India of tomorrow. The way we bring them up will determine the future of the country.” 

– Jawaharlal Nehru 

In 2022 A 19-year-old girl in Tamil Nadu committed suicide after she failed to clear the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) UG. 

There have been many reports claiming how parents and coaching institutes that prepare students for prestigious entrance examinations such as JEE, NEET, UPSC, SSC Bank exam, etc. put a lot of pressure on their students who are mostly adolescents. This results in students committing suicide and suffering from depression and other mental disorders. 

As Jawaharlal Nehru has rightly said, the children of our country determine our future, hence, if the children of our nation aren’t healthy mentally or physically our country couldn’t grow. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to ensure that children of our country grow up to be independent and healthy individuals.

STEPS TAKEN BY THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT 

“Do your little bit of good where you are; it is those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” -Archbishop Desmond Tutu 

We’ve seen the problems in India when it comes to the mental health status of both adolescents and adults. Now let’s look at some steps our government has taken to address this issue: 

● National Mental health Programme (NMHP) in 1982 

● National Mental health Act in 1987 

● District mental health program (DMHP) in 1996 

● Mental health care Act 2017- This act made a way for the establishment of the Central Health Authority and State Mental Health Authority as well. 

MORE SOLUTIONS 

“Whatever the problem, try being part of the solution” 

● Conducting regular surveys 

● Making people aware of mental illnesses by organizing seminars, workshops, etc. 

● Government should maintain data of how many people are suffering from these disorders and how many psychologists there are in our country 

● By providing safer surroundings to people as surroundings and environments do make a difference 

● By making sure all the formulated laws and schemes are helping people. 

**This blog and all its content, including images, are submitted by students under the Youth Voices Fellowship.**