The World Health Organization revealed that one in every four individuals might experience mental illness explicitly at some point in their lives.
Based on their global research on mental health, these statistics demonstrate that everyone is unquestionably impacted by mental health, whether directly or indirectly. Nonetheless, despite the universal importance of mental health, how it is managed, addressed, and given emphasis in various nations continues to be diverse.
The enormity of Mental Health Issues in India, the second most populated country, is far greater than in the rest of the world. While the rest of the globe spends between 5% and 18% of its GDP on mental health, India lags drastically by spending merely 0.05% of its GDP on mental health concerns. According to a mental health survey done by NIMHANS this leaves around 80% of the Indian population untreated. The State of the World’s Children 2021 provides a preview of the poll results, which added that 1 in 7 (15- to 24-year-olds) Indians reported experiencing depression or a lack of interest in activities regularly. In Cameroon, the percentage was close to one in three; in India and Bangladesh, one in seven; while in Ethiopia and Japan, it was as low as one in ten. It was one in five young people on average across 21 nations. In 2020, we surpassed China by having the largest number of deaths by suicide in the world. What’s more disheartening is that during COVID-19, we lost more people to suicide than to the virus itself, according to a WHO report.
Research points out that, even before the COVID-19 crisis, children and adolescents bore the burden of mental health disorders without receiving adequate funding to address them. According to the Journal of General Psychiatry, China ranks second highest with a staggering 17.5% of individuals in the population su”ering from mental problems. The US with a competitive and fast-paced lifestyle has 1 in 5 individuals experiencing mental health issues every year. One of the greatest issues faced by Brazil concerning mental health is the gap in treatment caused by a lack of experts in the field. Despite numerous reforms, there remains a significant discrepancy between citizens’ access to a”ordable services.
The pandemic left the entire world in constant fear and anxiety, causing almost a 15-20% increase in mental health issues, but also shun some light onto the importance of mental health. Accessible mental health services remain a great challenge for Indians. With most psychologists and psychiatrists clustered around urban areas, there’s a dearth of adequate mental health facilities in and around rural areas. While the government has rolled out some mental health programs on the district level, most don’t work e”ectively owing to the prevalence of magical and religious treatment methods which causes a lot of human rights abuse.
The fight against challenges concerning mental health, including stigma, a dearth of experts and funding in the field, and inadequate training and educational standards is not unique to India. Countries like China, the USA, and Brazil face similar challenges while attempting to make slow yet positive changes.
Importance of Professional Counseling: A friend or family member may listen to you, but they aren’t professionally, technically qualified or experienced to offer you professional advice. If you wish you can contact us at MindTribe to receive help from our team of expert psychologists.
About MindTribe.in.
MindTribe Founder Dr. Prerna Kohli, India’s eminent psychologist, established the company to leverage the strength of the online to make counseling affordable and accessible to everyone. MindTribe provides counseling, workshops, support groups, forums, and eLearning.
About the Author.
Dr. Prerna Kohli, is an eminent psychologist, a published author, a four-time gold medalist, an awardee by the President of India for her contributions to Mental Health, and the founder of MindTribe.in. You can learn more about her by clicking here www.drprernakohli.in
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of MindTribe.in, the Founders, or management team.
Acknowledgement: All images used are open source and from Unsplash.