Written by Shweta Tripathi | Reviewed By John Victor | Updated On September 9, 2022
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People who have any mental illness either be considered mad or are possessed with some evil spirits. It is considered a big taboo that people can reveal and share their status of being Gay/ Straight, but they do feel cynical about sharing their mental status/ health.
According to WHO, almost 7.5% Indian population is suffering from mental disorders, and by the year-end, it will be 20%. It estimates that 56 million Indians suffer from depression and 38 million Indians suffer from an anxiety disorder. India is very much behind in the identification and treatment of mental illness. The main contributors of mental health care, sleep quality, stress, and psychological distress. People who have mental illness try to hide their problems because they feel that a conservative society will judge them.
Though all of this was already there, the pandemic has made it actually worst .. by people are being at home, some have lost their jobs and struggling with livelihood, some have lost their closed ones and could not recover from that, even kids are also facing mental issues by being all the time at home and no physical interactions with their friends and teachers.
People do not get treated themselves because of many stigmas attached to it, which mainly comes from lack of right information and fear of being judged. During the study, researchers found two types of stigma around -
Public People who have mental illness are considered dangerous because of their sudden behavior change. Basically unpredictable. It results in the loss of a job, or they don't even get hired in the first place.
Self People who have mental illness considered themself as dangerous people basis, how they get treated by society. It leads to low self-esteem and a feeling of no worth.
The kind of stigma and discrimination they receive at their end leads to low self-esteem, no hope, an increase in psychiatric symptoms, difficulty maintaining relationships, feeling difficulty at work, social isolation, reluctance to speak, or asking for help.
There are some thoughts on what we can do as a torchbearer of mental health to reduce the stigma around and Taboo of mental health-
1) Show compassion to those who are going with mental illness and taking treatment.
2) Be conscious of language words are the best healer
3) Talk openly about mental health, illness, and treatments available on social media. It will create more positive awareness
4) Educate yourself and others we need to remove any negative comments by sharing facts and figures to make them positive
5) Empower if you have your own story to share about mental health, share it in public and social media, and empower people that this is just a phase and will go soon.
