it’s ok, not to be ok. Stand up against mental health stigma

The irony of mental health in India is that stigma is still part of the conversation. A study conducted by WHO in 2015 shows that 1 in 5 Indians may suffer from depression in their lifetime equivalent to 200 million. Almost 89% Indians are bogged down by stress related to health, finance and high pressure jobs and majority of them are not comfortable talking about their issues. Due to the stigma associated with mental illness, a lack of awareness, and limited access to professional help, only 10-12% of these sufferers will seek help. Stigma can be defined as a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person which is contrary to awareness. It’s therefore important for all Health & Wellness players to create awareness around depression and break the stigma. Its important for people to be more empathetic and acknowledge the range of emotions human beings can feel such as hatred, love, sadness, anger, sympathy and many more. Each of these emotions have a different impact on our daily lives. It is high time that we learn the art of feeling emotions as they are and help friends, family or just another human being in their journey of the same. People these days are extremely aware and conscious about their physical fitness and weight loss programs- they know what functional training programs to get enrolled on and what super foods to eat in order to stay in shape. But unfortunately when it comes to mental health, the awareness just isn’t there. Through marketing campaigns, public talks, on ground activations and digital awareness we should reach out to people and be that friend with whom people can share all their apprehensions without having to worry about getting disclosed, judged or misguided.