India may be staring at a possible mental health epidemic: Ram Nath Kovind

New Delhi: Warning that India may be staring at a potentialĀ mental healthĀ epidemic, PresidentĀ Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday, stated that over 90 percent of those suffering fromĀ mental health-related issues didnā€™t receive adequate medical care.

The President was inaugurating the World Congress ofĀ Mental HealthĀ in Delhi, where he quoted theĀ World Health Organisation(WHO) statistics noting that India has one of the highest prevalence of mental illnesses globally.

ā€œOur National Mental Health Survey, 2016 found that close to 14 percent of Indiaā€™s population required active mental health interventions. About two per cent suffered from severe mental disorders,ā€ Ram Nath Kovind said.

Nearly two hundred thousand Indians take their own lives each year and if data for attempted suicide was included the number goes up substantially, he added.

ā€œThese are worrying statistics. It is also a fact that those living in metropolitan cities and those who were young whether in the productive age group, or children and teenagers are most vulnerable to mental illnesses, he said.

Both these factors, he said, were a major cause of concern since most of Indiaā€™s population ā€“ 65 percent to be precise ā€“ fell below the age of 35.

ā€œAnd our society is rapidly urbanising. This leaves us staring at a possible mental health epidemic,ā€ he said.

Given the figures, the president said, it was ā€œan irony that 90 percent of Indians in need simply donā€™t receive mental healthcareā€.

ā€œThere are several reasons for this and I hope they will be addressed in this conference,ā€ he said.

The President called for a correct approach for these issues to be treated.

ā€œThe biggest obstacle that mental health patients have to encounter is stigma and denial. This leads to the issue being ignored or simply not discussed. In some cases it leads to self-diagnosis that is unsuitable or could worsen the situation. It may even lead to other extreme steps,ā€ he said.

Ram Nath KovindĀ added that as a society the country would have to fight this culture of stigma.

ā€œWe need to talk about mental health issues and treat ailments such asĀ depression and stressĀ as diseases that can be cured-not as guilty secrets that must be pushed under the carpet,ā€ he said.

Ram Nath KovindĀ also highlighted the ā€œscarcityā€ of doctors and counsellors to treat such instances.

ā€œA second major gap in combating the mental health challenge is that of human resources. India is a country with 1.25 billion people but just seven hundred thousand doctors less than one million,ā€ he underlined.

In the field of mental health, he said, the scarcity was even more acute.

There are only about five thousand psychiatrists and less than two thousand clinical psychologists in the country, Kovind said.

ā€œWe need to act,ā€ he said, adding that these numbers of doctors and mental health experts were extremely inadequate.

ā€œIt is vital to tap into our wealth of traditional knowledge and link its learning to modern research on mental health. This will promote a holistic approach to mental healthcare, combining the best of different fields of practice,ā€ he said.

The President said Indiaā€™s mental health challenge was like capturing a society in multiple transitions.

ā€œFrom traditional diseases, it is gradually non- communicable diseases that are emerging as a major threat to our people and their well being. This is part of a worldwide trend. And many non-communicable diseases are either rooted in or associated with mental health issues,ā€ he said.

About a thousand delegates, including 300 from across the globe, are participating in the conference.

Source:Ā The Siasat Daily

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