How important is mental health? It is as important as your physical health. Emotions, trauma, experience, and memories play a big role in your mental environment. Stress is recently shown as harming both mental and physical health. Burning out is among the many mental challenges many faces today.

Mental health is not solely focused on illnesses concerned with the brain but now has expanded to depression, anxiety, and stress. These are the drivers that can push one’s mind to its limits. The worst is that unattended mental health issues can result in would-be suicide. More and more NGOs are working to help those in need by just providing an ear to listen to their please and advice on how they can overcome problems.

Everyone is facing a problem. It is considered part of life, how we will deal with those problems depends on the number of solutions we are aware of. Now that the whole world can access the internet, they become more knowledgeable on previously unknown or unverified information.

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Constant growth in the rate of suicides due to the decline of their psychological wellbeing in India, It is one of the biggest concerns India has. As many as 16.5 persons per 1,000, 000 people commit suicide in India every year. Considering the fact that the country’s population is more than 135 crores, the rate of suicide in India is something we should be concerned of and need to act upon. If we compare southern states of India such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu with the northern states of the country i.e. Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, we will find that there is a huge difference between the rates of suicide in these two regions. While the northern states of India have the suicide rate of fewer than 3 persons per 1, 00, 000 people every year, the southern states of the country show a dreadful suicide rate of more than 15 persons per 1, 00, 000 people. Some of the possible explanations for such a huge difference between the two regions may include higher literacy rate, higher expectations and higher socioeconomic status etc in the southern region of the country.

Causes of high number of suicide cases: Mental health taboo & need for an awareness campaign

The very reason for this horrifying increasing rate of suicides in India is the lack of awareness campaigns to emphasize and importance on mental wellness and mental health in India. There is a huge need for understanding the sensitivity of the issue in our country. One of the most disheartening facts regarding the ever-increasing suicide rate in India is that the very topic of mental health in our country is seen as a taboo. We do not talk about mental health and the quality of life we should have. This bizarre truth of our society is causing us more lives due to depression, anxiety, and stress. The most common characteristics that patients with mental health often have are prolonged sadness, isolation, abandonment from society, shame, or guilt.

The condition of mental health awareness can be understood by the fact that there is a lack of one psychiatrist and psychologist combined for every 1,000,000 patients in India. This shows the immediate need for campaigns about mental health awareness in India. The insufficiency of the infrastructure and mental health professionals are two of the major causes that affect the increasing rate of suicide in India. Undoubtedly, the healthcare sector of India is growing fast and revolutionizing rapidly; however, we are still quite inadequate in dealing with mental health.

Some Important Steps for Increasing Mental Health Awareness Campaigns in India

Having such a huge population in India, it is very important that the masses should be involved, communicated and educated about mental health awareness, psychological well being and mental wellness. We must communicate to masses and educate them about the need for recognizing the symptoms, understanding the sensitivity of the issue and adopting preventive measures regarding the mental health problems in India.

Some of the main channels through which we can educate and encourage the masses about the mental health are the government mental health awareness programs and campaigns, educational system, social media, and other mental awareness campaigns run by the private organisations etc.

Government Mental Health Awareness Programs and Campaigns

There is a dire need for the government of India to take the mental health issue very seriously. While we do have some new mental health programs to tackle the concern; however, these programs are largely confined to urban areas of the country only. Hence, we must introduce such programs and campaigns through the public health system so that it reaches the rural areas of India.

Mental Health Awareness Through Indian Educational System

One of the most feasible and important medium to educate students and youngsters about mental health is to introduce dedicated mental health awareness programs in the educational system of India. A child’s mind is like a blank canvas, which makes it easy for parents and educators to fill the canvas with meaningful life learnings. Adding mental health awareness programs in the Indian curriculum will make children learn more and talk about the potential mental health issues they are dealing with.

Social Media Mental Health Awareness

Social media has become an integral part of society, especially in urban areas of India. Hence, social media is one of the most powerful and easiest ways to approach the masses to learn and educate others about mental health. Seeing the ever-increasing usage of the internet and social media platforms in India, creating mental health awareness through these social media platforms can be quite effective and target the masses easily.

Other Mental Awareness Campaigns

Other than these above-mentioned channels, there are many other organizations that run mental health programs and campaigns to cope with one’s psychological wellness. However, the reach of these campaigns is very limited and hence, such campaigns are not as effective as they should be. We must increase our focus on cultivating such mental health awareness campaigns on a larger scale.

Even though we have had various strategies and approaches to tackle the issue of degrading mental health in India, we must accept that most of the policies and plans that we created about mental health awareness in India have not been succeeded as they should have been. This very statement is not just true for India but is equally correct for other underdeveloped countries. It is high time that we must take mental health awareness seriously and introduce new approaches and strategies to deal with mental health issues in India. The current mental health situation of our country demands highly effective mental health policies, resources, training, and regulations. When it comes to providing mental health patients with the right kind of care, we need to introduce some innovative and accredited programs that provide us with proficient mental health experts. This can only be possible with the strong support of the government. We need to allocate funds for creating mental health awareness campaigns and educating more and more people. The right education is the key to solving mental health issues in a timely and effective manner.

Want an article on mental health? Here’s covid-19, Lock and its impact on people’s mental health in India ,  World Mental Health day being celebrated today , How Good Nutrition can help to maintain mental health.

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Seems like COVID-19 has not only been affecting the physical health of the people but also attacking mental health. India, where the first lockdown was introduced on March 25, 2020, followed by a couple of more lockdown sessions, has still not opened completely. This has been drastically affecting the mental health of the people in India. The prolonged lockdown has ensured or at least tried to restrain millions of people from stepping out of their homes. We cannot deny the fact that the lockdown has been playing an important role in containing the corona virus cases. However, this very lockdown has not been a friend for a lot many people and has affected the masses emotionally and mentally.

How Does the Lockdown Affect People in a Negative Way?

The COVID-19 and lockdown have changed the way we live to a very large extent. Since the arrival of coronavirus cases in India, the lives of the people has not been the same as it used to be. The lockdown has directly affected our physical movement as we can neither go outside of our houses nor indulge in any physical activity. Even if go outside of our houses for getting essential supplies, we have to maintain the social distance so that no one can touch us or can come very close to us. All the public places, shopping malls, offices, factories, schools, colleges, parks and other areas where people used to come into one another’s contact have been shut for months. Though a lot of places have opened now, however, many offices and workplaces are still not open with a full man force.

The sudden announcement of the lockdown has left millions of people either stranded out of their native places or locked in the rental houses with no income whatsoever. Thousands of security guards, maids, gardeners, cleaners and other related service providers have been thrown out of their contractual jobs due to the fear of coronavirus spread. We are living in a time where the people have been caught up with problems from everywhere. Millions of people have lost their employments, facing financial issues, cannot go to work, schools, and colleges or meet their friends and relatives. Apart from all this, they have the fear of catching any COVID-19 symptoms.

The impact of lockdown is the worst on those people who are either not financially strong, living alone or physically, emotionally and psychologically weak. Another community that has been enduring the pain of the lockdown is the old and sick people. People who are old and sick and do not have the family members around to take care of them are among the worst groups of people affected by the lockdown and COVID-19 pandemic. Owing to having old age, such people are at a higher risk of getting infected by the corona virus. Knowing that you are at a higher risk of any disease while not having your loved ones around is the worst feeling one could have. And, our old age people are facing such psychological trauma on a daily basis. Other than that, there are millions of people who are continuously working for providing us with the essential services on a daily basis even during the pandemic. Apart from having caught up with the COVID-19 diseases, they also have the fear to carry the corona virus symptoms to homes every day. And the same is the case with our doctors, cleaners, defence personnel and other medical staff who are protecting us from the COVID-19 every single minute without thinking about their own health and safety.

The After-Effects of Lockdown on Mental Health in India

The COVID-19 pandemic has been doing great damages to the world, which will affect our generation for long. According to a survey conducted by The Mavericks India, as many as 61 per cents of Indians are suffering from mental health issues due to the prolonged lockdown. The uncertainty and current and upcoming financial crisis have impacted millions of people in India. The study further shows that women have been affected more than men due to the sudden escalation in domestic responsibilities with no regular family income. In the wake of not having assistance from the domestic helpers, the load of work has been increased tremendously on women primarily.

The most significant change that the world is going to see post COVID-19 pandemic is the upsurge in the number of work-from-home employments. A lot of veteran companies are looking for adapting to working remotely for a longer period of time post COVID-19 or permanently in many job profiles. Seeing the immediate cost cutting adaptation by tons of multinational companies along with other small and big ventures, working remotely is another way to cut the cost of office rent and real estate expenditures. Besides, work from home saves time and energy of the employee and employers as well. Experts are seeing working remotely as the win-win scenario for both workers and owners.

There is A Ray of Hope!

There is no doubt that C0VID-19 has taken a toll on people’s lives around the globe. It has affected almost every country in the world. The negative influence of the corona virus will be seen for a longer period of time throughout the world. The need of the hour is that we all must stand together and face the COVID-19 pandemic and its negative influences on humankind. Even in this worst time, we have seen, on different occasions, that Indian citizens have united and band together to fight off the circumstances across the country. We have been seeing many feeding hungry and homeless people, providing them with shelters, helping those who are not in a situation to help themselves. Apart from this, take care of your family and friends too. Communicate with them via phone calls, social media and video calls on a regular basis. Cheer them up, let them know that you are there for them. Do not let them feel alone. In this gloomy time, all we need is a ray of hope to build up our strength and rise together once again.

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