Much of the coverage surrounding mental health in India tends to focus on the treatment gap – manifest in shortages of infrastructure and personnel. In Tamil Nadu, however, there is some good news. The state has opened its second mental health hospital. The Theni Medical College and Hospital is now home to an Institute of …
Many people living with depression also face bowel difficulties such as constipation. A new study has identified a reason why: low serotonin. The link between the two conditions is serotonin, a neurotransmitter often called the “happy chemical” because of its importance to happiness and wellbeing owing to a range of complex cognitive functions it performs. …
Low serotonin could lead to constipation as well as depression Read More »
Mental health disorders affect roughly ten percent of Indians. 56 million Indians suffer from depression alone and 38 million experience anxiety disorders. Despite this, there is an enormous shortage of mental healthcare professionals across the country and much stigma is attached to the condition, dissuading many from coming forward and seeking treatment. “There is a …
When it comes to dyslexia, there is no shortage of stigma in India. Revealing testimonies from sufferers highlight how often the problem is handled poorly – if it is handled at all. “I felt like the stupidest person in the world growing up,” one sufferer said. “My parents and teachers were terrible to me because …
The Modi dyslexia row hints at a much wider stigma Read More »
Shocking findings from Punjab have served to highlight one of the biggest issues confronting public health in India: the country’s lack of specialist doctors. Doctors untrained in the field of forensics perform eighty percent of autopsies in the state. This is resulting in “poor quality of work”, warns Dr D S Bhullar, president of the …
Lack of forensic doctors highlights a national crisis Read More »
Maya Devi is 85-years-old and living with her daughter in the city of Jammu. But she would not be here for long and soon shift to her younger daughter’s house in Delhi, then soon to her other daughter’s house. This is an arrangement worked among her daughters after her son’s death when her daughter-in-law asked …
India’s seniors are lonely and depressed. How do we address this crisis? Read More »
Around 150 million Indians are in need of mental healthcare. This is according to government data, which highlighted the significance mental disorders among the population at 10.6 percent. Depression alone affects 56 million people and anxiety disorders affecting 38 million. When experts convened for the third High-Level United Nations Meeting on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) last …
World Mental Health Day: How India is dealing with its silent crisis Read More »
India’s elderly population is projected to reach more than 340 million by 2050. Could that result in a new mental health epidemic? New data reveals that 21.9 percent of India’s elderly suffer from depression. This is a much higher rate than the global average. Fifteen percent of the world’s elderly population suffer from a mental …
The health insurance industry has been directed to cover those with mental illnesses by India’s apex insurance regulator. “Every insurer shall make provision for medical insurance for treatment of mental illness,” the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) told the country’s 33 insurance firms in a circular. IRDAI’s instructions come on the heels …
In three years 16,324 farm labourers committed suicide Much of the attention surrounding the suicide crisis on India’s farmlands has centred around the farmers. However data shows that farm workers are killing themselves in droves, in what is the latest spotlight shone on the desperation and despair faced by those who till India’s soil and …
It’s not just farmers who are killing themselves. Farm workers are too. Read More »
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