Opinion: Why the Topic of Mental Health in India is Still a Taboo

By Sahana Kumar

In the U.S., specifically in California, you get the talk about mental health and disorders at least once before you graduate high school. Whether or not you’re afflicted by a mental illness, it’s not that hard to find someone who is or get yourself educated on it. According to the CDC, it was reported that 1 in 5 people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with one mental illness or another, so it makes sense why we, as a society, are getting more educated on how to help ourselves and others. But in developing countries, namely India, mental health seems to be the least of their problems, even though it’s a problem that must be addressed as soon as possible.

I’m an Indian-American who has lived both in India and America, and the way I have experienced mental health in both countries is not only drastically different, but it reiterates the same problem one can see time and time again in other social taboos.

When I was in 7th grade, I was diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or OCD, a form of anxiety that makes the mind fixated on certain thoughts, ideas, and habits. With the help of an amazing therapist (which I would not have been able to afford if my family didn’t have monetary privilege, but that’s another story for another time), I was able to overcome and manage my anxiety. As I think more and more about my mental health journey, I think about what it would have been like if I was first diagnosed in India.

I lived in India from the ages of 7 to 10 and went to therapy regularly. I honestly don’t remember much about it, except that I had to drive over 2.5 hours just to go to my therapist’s office (even though I was in the ever-bustling metropolis Bangalore, the fact that I had to drive more than two hours just to get therapy already shows the problem). Other than that, I was exposed to homeopathy, a form of alternative medicine.

Let’s get this straight - I’m a huge advocate for Western Medicine in all its forms, but in India, this looked like the solution, and it would’ve been much more like this if I had been diagnosed there as well. 

So the question remains: why is finding good mental health care in India so difficult? This question - much like questions about the lack of LGBTQ+ rights and the reinforced caste system - have a disappointing answer. It’s just the way it is. For every “perfect” family in India (and the rest of the world), there’s a plethora of neglected and hidden issues that may never be addressed in Indian culture. 

As stated by WHO in 2011, for every 100,000 patients diagnosed with a mental illness, there were only 0.301 psychiatrists and 0.047 psychologists; by 2020, they expect over 20% of the Indian population to suffer from a mental health illness.

If you are not an Indian-American student who has often talked about mental health or other Indian taboos with their family (it would be quite surprising if you are!) - let me show you a bit of what it’s like. I am blessed to have a family that is thoroughly educated on mental health and its effects, but the topic of LGBTQ+ rights and ideals was never fully exposed to them. So when I first tried to explain it, there was a mix of confusion, denial, and eventual acceptance. This seems to be the same pattern you see with any of these tough talks with your parents. But they’re incredibly important. I’m not sure where I’d be if my parents didn’t do their research and were ready to help my anxiety instead of simply denying it.

So when you read this rather all-over-the-place article and wonder what exactly you can do about the elephants in the room, I say just talk to your parents about it! Bring up traditionally awkward talks or simply ask them if they’re okay with discussing certain taboos. By bringing these topics to light,  you not only develop a closer and more transparent relationship with your parents (this is from first hand experience, but of course this varies with every family), but you learn more about yourself in the process. If you have that homophobic uncle, talk about it! Yes, these are hard, awkward, and often cringey talks, but if you never talk about them, you unintentionally run away from the same hard conversations you will definitely have in the future.