HOW INDIA PERCEIVES DEPRESSION
AND
INDIA’S ATTITUDE TOWARDS IT?
We are quite
accustomed with sadness, feeling down, having a loss of interest or pleasure in
daily activities and sometimes we face a difficult time to overcome all these
and if these feelings persist for a long time and gets in the way of our life
and relationships then that can be called as depression. The sad reality is
that more than 300 million people are falling prey to it. The number of people
with common mental disorders globally is going up day by day.
HOW DOES DEPRESSION AFFECT YOUR BODY?
Depression forces the body and the brain into a death trap.
Usually, the brain is equipped of handling stressful situations by releasing a
high level of dopamine which makes the person to stay normal. When extreme
depression hits our brain it messes up our hormonal function that makes us
harder to cope up with the situation. Extreme negativity reduces our brain’s functioning
power and cognitive skills and helplessness, hopelessness along with
nervousness grab us. It interferes with our sleep schedule and appetite. It
also causes headaches and drains out our body energy. Some depressed people are
tend to stop taking care of themselves and gradually they develop various
sicknesses.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), depression is
the most common illness worldwide and the leading cause of disability. It is also the major
contributor to suicide deaths. Worldwide, depression increased by 18 per cent
from 2005 to 2015. Leaving USA and China behind, now India is the most
depressed country in the world. The maximum cases of anxiety,
schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorders are found in India and 6.5% of
the population is suffering from it and surprisingly most of them are
unreported. This goes on to prove that there is a huge gap between patients and
mental health care professionals and the ratio is 1 doctor for every 1,00,000
patients. And in India suicide is one of the biggest causes of death in the age
group of 15-24.The average suicide rate in India is 10.9 for every lakh people.
WHY IS INDIA THE MOST DEPRESSED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD?
IGNORANCE about one’s mental
condition is one of the biggest reasons in our country. People in India
perceive mental diseases as something ridiculous. And due to this societal
stigma people who are suffering from some form of mental illness, have less
courage to talk about their problem and even if the person does he/she is bound
to get mocked.
LACK OF SOCIAL AWARENESS
about depression is another reason why India is the most depressed country in
the world. People are less aware of the fact that mental illness can too be
dangerous. We have to accept that mental illness is just like any other illness
and should be treated accordingly.
In our country due to STIGMA
and IGNORANCE depression and mental sickness is still not talked
about openly and often it is confused with ‘madness’ and considered a taboo
topic. The way people treat mental patients in India make their condition worse.
It is hard to know when depression strikes. Everyone feels
‘blue’ from time to time. Depression is a real illness that can develop at any
age. If it is left
undiagnosed and untreated, depression can cause many problems, especially in
adolescent cases. The consequences of not taking care of adolescent’s mental
health conditions extend to adulthood, damaging both physical and mental health
and limiting opportunities to lead fulfilling lives as adults.
“DEPRESSION!” This word has taken
more lives than any other weapons in the world. Depression leads to loss of
identity and eventually it takes the person to the path of death. Almost every
day we hear someone has committed suicide due to depression. Currently India is
confronting a mental health crisis. People must stop stigmatizing and judging
someone who is facing this situation and they should offer support by
connecting and talking to the patients. Government sector, NGOs and healthcare
sector must take the initiative to aware people about mental illnesses and this
should not be restricted only to ‘World Mental Health Day’. There is extreme
shortage of mental health care practitioners in India and government and
private sectors and NGOs must try to correct the current ratio of patients and
doctors. This is high time we start taking depression and other mental illness seriously,
otherwise it would soon turn into an epidemic in India.
