Have you ever thought about talking to people about mental health? You are at a party and someone passes a light comment about depression and you want to retort but then you see that the crowd joined in and you stay silent. You never really know how someone feels towards mental health until you talk to them, and even then, many if not most of the times you are one left outraged and offended because of the ideas they have.
The Live Love Laugh Foundation, Actress Deepika Padukone's initiative to educate and spread awareness about mental health in India, on Friday launched a report on how India perceives the subject of mental health.
Get this: smaller cities are more inclusive towards people facing mental health issues, whereas the same people in larger cities face higher stigma.
56% people in India think that a sign of mental illness is that they "talk to themselves"; 30% link mental illness with a person who "cleans too much". 87% of respondents showed that they had some level of awareness about mental illnesses.
Sadly, 62% respondents used words like 'retard', 'crazy', 'mad' to describe people with a mental illness. Now that makes the stigma being apparent eh? Many out of those who showed awareness also used terms of stigma.
So clearly this country needs a wholesome awareness program when it comes to mental health.
"The stigma is reducing, people are now addressing their mental health concerns," said Deepika during the launch of the report.
This lack of knowledge though, is not just a health concern, but also a social concern because stigma is one thing, in some parts of the country, people with mental health concerns are marginalised. So awareness is very necessary.
There is so much bias and there needs to be more engagement with people who are influential, successful and have dealt with a mental illness. The narrative around needs to change, and people who have dealt with mental illnesses are the ones who have to drive that, they have to work to remove the stigma and show more and more people that dealing with mental health is as normal as dealing with your physical health.
Comments
There is a long way to go, but this is a good start. And maybe, someday we will reach a point where people shall be getting checked for their mental health status with as much ease as they get their blood pressure checked. One day.
