Mental Health in India

By Misbah Ansari

We have always brought into conversation the abstract nature of the human mind. Our mind has been subject to philosophical connotations all the while, but little do we know of its biology. This leads to an obvious negligence about mental health and its treatment.

In India, mental illnesses have always been related to something supernatural due to the stringent faith system that is prevalent in the country. Your mental stability is directly proportional to the deeds that you do. Mental illness is associated with bad deeds, this making it a situation of major taboo. The stigma that mental health comes with has a plethora of reasons, and to know more about the sociological and religious basis of stigma around mental health in the country, I interviewed Mrs. Lakshmi Madhusudan, a sociology teacher from Smt. Sulochanadevi Singhania School, Thane to enlighten us about the cultural and anthropological point of views regarding mental health in the lower strata.

She teaches her children about gender, politics, religion, and has been in this field for around 10 years, with her special contribution in academia and works with several Nonprofit organisations. She says that, “People in the country are largely unaware, and term any mental illness with ‘madness’. For them , people are either good or ‘mental’. According to her, the people in general have a stigma around the issue, and see visiting a psychiatrist or psychologist as a taboo.

It is interesting to know that there is a theory of karma related to mental health issues. There is a belief that someone with mental health issues has done a lot of sins in current and past life, and are thus facing this fate. They want to be away from such ignominy and thus don't acknowledge it. There is a temple of Khandoba in Pune where people who are mentally ill (seen as possessed) are made to climb a greased pillar. Those with mental illnesses are said to climb at a faster rate, thus signifying their piousness.

When talking about privilege, we need to know that it is a case of priorities among the different classes. Even if the people from all socioeconomic backgrounds know about the need to be mentally fit, they both have different economic and moral responsibilities. For those from the upper middle class and upper class, shelling out money for a professional treatment is still viable, noting that there is a considerable amount that they can spend on things beyond basic necessities and health care. This is not the case for working class people. It is usually seen that the ones from this sector have larger families due to lack of awareness and want for the male child, which makes it difficult to suffice from the income that they receive. The money is meager even to cover food and education, let alone something like treatment of mental illness.

A lot of understanding and acceptance of mental illnesses comes from the social learning that we hold. One can see that people who are constantly reading and knowing about stress, are more sensitive to the people around them regarding mental health issues. Even the group of youngsters whose social media base and educative background is liberal and has conversations on equality, health, etc. are more accepting of the problem than those from other groups.

A few months back, I attended a round table conference with the agenda of how to institutionalize mental health in schools. I was startled to know that there are only around 5000 psychologists in India, when compared to the population of 1.2 billion people in the country. This boils down to just one psychologist per 25,000 to 3,000 people.

Adding to the topic of mental health in the lower strata of society, Priyanka Roy, an established psychologist, discusses further. It was in 2017 when she started actively working as a psychologist. She is a part of a cancer foundation in Chembur, Mumbai, and has been interacting with cancer patients since 2008. She shares her experience about working with a government hospital as a psychologist —

“One thing that is very prominent in the lower strata of society is that the awareness is very low. Their acceptance of something like a mental illness becomes very low. For them, it's the end of the world. So, there was a case that I came across. A person from an extremely poor family had to be admitted to the hospital and their means were very minimum. The person on the next bed also came from a similar background. In conversation with them we got to know that used to visit the Vashi APMC market everyday. When we asked them why, they said that you know discarded scrap vegetables? We collect those so that we can fill our stomachs. For someone coming out that type of environment, being exposed to mental illness and this hospitalisation is very difficult. Yet they don't leave their humanity, which something very important and something that we rarely see in well to do families. The person on the next bed didn't have any money and this person gave him some money to have lunch. Just have Vada Pav* and come! They have this humanitarian ground which is very visible.”

Priyanka says, what you don't know, you fear. This statement happens to be true in all ways. Unless and until people are given access to education, it is difficult for them to venture into something like mental health. Ignorance is not bliss in this case. We in general need to realize that mental wellness is something that we deserve. It needs to change from a luxury to a necessity.

Policies are meant for people. You cannot formulate them unless the people are ready for it in all senses. Sun rays touching your eyes after a prolonged sleep is not easy, too.

It is difficult to bring into conversation something so latent, but necessary. Like Emma Watson once said, “ If not us, who? If not now, when?”

Vada Pav * - A local Maharashtrian snack