Mental Health Concerns and Challenges in India: The Way Forward

 The prevalence of mental illness in India is rapidly increasing and of grave concern is the decreasing age of onset among the youth. This article below outlines the significant concerns and challenges of the mental health care system in India and proposes key measures to deal with these complex challenges. This paper is divided into four sections: the first section focuses on the complex nature of mental illness with respect to overlapping symptoms of various disorders, co-morbidities and the mediating role of physiological factors. The role of the stigma surrounding mental illness in reducing help-seeking behaviour and adherence to treatment is highlighted. The second part of the article outlines the various challenges in the treatment of mental illness with respect to the lack of trained man-power, lack of formulation-based treatment, the over-emphasis on diagnosis and various such critical factors. The third section outlines the challenges at the policy level including the lacunae of funding into mental health, lack of insurance for mental illness, and lack of awareness about the rights of people with mental illness. The article concludes with the enumeration of the various indirect contributory factors in the rise of mental illness such as increasing demands and stress, the mediating role of technology, rapid social change, unemployment and the fragmentation of family and consequent isolation. The various measures to bridge the gap in India’s mental health care system are simultaneously discussed.