Editorial | Need for Mental Wellbeing!

Mental health stands above all when it comes to human welfare. The overall well-being of an individual depends on their mental health. The burden of disease caused by mental illnesses, such as depression, anxiety, and neuro-psychiatric disorders, represents 18.5% of the total burden of disease. In addition to having a significant financial impact, poor mental health renders communities unable and undermines national output. A significant barrier impeding the development of mental healthcare in India is being attributed to the lack of proper facilities, accessibility, and awareness. More than 80% of individuals in India lack access to mental healthcare treatments for a variety of reasons, according to data from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences. Due to a variety of social stigma and gender disparity, lack of access to education, limited mobility, added household responsibilities for working women, conditioning them into honed caregivers make them vulnerable to a variety of mental health issues.  A good portion of women in India face gender based violence putting a third of all women in India at higher risk of developing anxiety disorders and depression. Most individuals with mental health conditions are unaware that it is actually a serious disease and go untreated. Many people are denied care due to a lack of knowledge about the signs and symptoms of mental illness, stigma and myths associated with it, lack of information regarding the availability of treatment options and the advantages of seeking treatment. The biggest obstacles to addressing the issue of mental health in India include a lack of affordable diagnostic testing and a lack of readily accessible treatment. There is a pressing need to build a more diverse and robust healthcare system, with a focus on collective social health, access to cheap, high-quality treatment based on human rights, and a psycho-social approach along with the destigmatisation associated with mental illness. Only a mentally enriched nation can prosper forward!