A worm's eye narrative of mental health in the capital
I am writing this article by keeping it closer to the ground realities of Indian mental health conditions. You can find “n” number of articles on the web talking about the scary figures and containing tons of data on the present scenario of the mental health in India, so let's move beyond it. What I am trying to express through this article is a lived-in experience. So, let me start with a brief introduction, I am a Psychologist, born and bought up in New Delhi, India, one of the most modernized states in this country and known for its urban lifestyle and glamour across India, by the rest of the country the state is also seen as a platform of opportunities and growth. Actually, I would say that’s just a bird’s eye view and probably a vague explanation about the Capital city, wonder why..?? let me just explain from my 24 years of lived-in experience from Delhi.
The general socioeconomic status of the city ranges from low socioeconomic status to high socioeconomic status but the majority would agree to exist somewhere in the middle. Although the city caters well to the need for education, health, basic amenities, etc. for some reason it has failed in terms of mental health awareness and this is something SERIOUS. “Serious” because the capital can give you a fair estimate of the rest of the country. People and governments both seem to be failed up to a great level to spread awareness on mental health, in the city we can see the awareness banners about communicable diseases like TB, dengue, HIV, etc. but you can rarely find a single awareness banner talking about mental health. we can agree upon the fact the other diseases are important but I feel miserable when I think back and find myself unable to recollect a single awareness banner talking about “mental health and interventions" over the last 2 decades: in one of the most developed cities of India. Did Delhi forget to look at the darker alleys while being busy decorating its broad corridors with glitter?
I believe undoubtedly that urban lifestyle offers a good amount of stress to the residents and the constant stress is directly proportional to mental health issues (mostly neurotic) common factors being low employment rates, high cost of living and “on the go lifestyle” does not provide the city with a fair opportunity to relax. Over the last 2 decades, I have seen the city accepting these stressors and normalizing their deteriorating mental health condition for some reason. No doubt that the number of mental health professionals seems to be increasing at a steady rate but the question is how will it help when there seems to be “no awareness” among the large part of the population.
It is not uncommon to hear people in the capital asking “who is a psychologist?” and on probing a bit at the most they will identify one as “Paagalon ka doctor” (doctor of mental). Among my friends and family, I hardly know someone who seeks the help of a Psychologist, I am making this statement as I myself being a Psychologist know people who really need and even having diagnosable issues but they do not seek help because they are unable to even recognize their condition to be something which requires help. Moreover, I feel sad to express that I have even experienced Physicians stigmatizing mental illnesses and not making the client aware of the possible options to seek help. Delhi is among the top 5 cities in India with the highest number of suicide rates. Studies in Delhi shows that the population of Delhi has high prevalence of psychiatric morbidity, poor subjective well-being and unacceptably low levels of awareness about the mental health services and related issues, also almost negligible number of people seek professional help.
These highlights one important thing i.e. No matter how many public hospitals like IBHAS and AIIMS we provide mental health care facilities, they will be of no use until there is a substantial awareness in the society about mental health. I totally feel that Accessibility, Availability, and Acceptance will stay at a halt until the Awareness does not prevail. Today in 2019 looking at this scenario, there is a compelling need to ask, where did the capital fail? Now what? Concluding from the experience, I can express that DELHI REALLY NEED TO WORK ON IT. There is already a number of studies proving the unsatisfactory mental health scenario in the capital. We are just waiting for the governments to acknowledge this as a significant problem and implement the best possible resources for the same.
Few things which can be done:
Awareness programs in schools and colleges
Mental health OPD’s local public hospitals
Planning a health cover for therapy and counseling services
Promoting and funding NGO’s to work for promoting mental health
Sensitizing and training ground-level workers like ASHA and Anganwadi for identification and help
Overall increasing the mental health budget
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