As per the All India Survey on Higher Education* (AISHE) 2017-18, there are 903 Universities, 39,050 Colleges and 10011 Stand Alone Institutions, attended by 36.6 million students.
A study conducted by Asian Journal of Psychiatry states that an alarming 53.2% of students in Indian Universities are suffering from various mental health issues, out of which 37.7%, 13.1%, and 2.4% of the students were suffering from moderate, severe, and extremely severe depression. At 53.2%, this would mean that a staggering total of 19,471,200 students are currently suffering from various mental health-related problems.
In the three years since 2014, as many as 26,476 students have killed themselves in India, according to the latest data sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs, by all Indian states and union territories.
The data highlighted that the number of suicides for 2016,
stood at 9,474.That is one suicide every 55 minutes!!!
At 1,350 suicides, Maharashtra logged the highest number for 2016, accounting for 14% of the total.
The World Health Organization (WHO) report of 2011, estimates that India has only 0.301 psychiatrists, 0.047 psychologists and 0.166 nurses available per 100,000 people. The National Mental Health Survey, 2016, estimated that 75% to 85% of people with various types of mental disorders, do not receive any mental healthcare and treatment. This is sad and shocking by any standards.
Some Shocking Facts and Statistics regarding Mental Health Problems in India
• One in six people, aged 10-19 years is suffering from depression.
• Half of all mental health conditions start by the age of 14 years, and most cases are undetected and untreated.
• Suicide is the third leading cause of death among 15-19 year-olds.
• Not addressing adolescent mental health conditions extend to adulthood, thus impairing both physical and mental health.
• Common mental disorders, including depression, anxiety disorders and substance abuse, affects nearly 10% of the Indian population.
• Nearly 80% of people suffering from mental disorders have not received any treatment, despite the presence of illness for more than 12 months
Some Triggers/Stressors causing Mental Health Problems
• Issues at college and school; drugs and depression over broken families; and fights with friends and breakups, can be attributed to the growing fatal trend.
• Heightened aspirations, peer pressure, career uncertainties and financial constraints.
• Adolescence is the formative period of students, wherein their knowledge, character, mental make-up and personality are forged. However, most students lack even basic social skills, because they spend the prime of their adolescence preparing for the competitive exams.
• Many students from radically different backgrounds face a different set of problems – ranging from language and sometimes vast student diversity. Some of the students come from relatively simpler backgrounds, and so they have no clue that they can seek counselling. Therefore, the lack of counselling often leads to feelings of hopelessness.
• Forced career choices, fear of failure, and the general stigma attached to mental distress often push students towards the terminal step of suicide.
• Most educational institutions do not seriously take cognisance of and address issues such as depression and substance abuse.
• For the most part, mental health problems are seen in the same light as sexuality ~ A Taboo! People habitually turn a blind eye towards such subjects.
• The Indian society does not realise that mental health problems need to be addressed and treated much like a common cold or a gastric disorder. If left untreated, it can lead to severe and at times fatal consequences.
Against this backdrop, let’s do a case study of Bandra, a suburb in Mumbai. There are a total of approximately 20 colleges in Bandra. Due to lack of any concrete available data, let’s assume that each college caters to an average of 2,000 students. This would mean that there are a total of 40,000 college students in Bandra. On a national level, it is established that 53.2% of the students are suffering from various types of mental health problems. If we apply 53.2% to the number of college students in Bandra, we are looking at a disconcerting figure of 21,280 college students, in Bandra, who are at risk of mental health problems.
The Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS), which is the apex body in India for all psychiatrists is seized of this huge problem and has appointed a task force – ‘College Psychiatry’ – to address the mental health problems of the college students.
The Chairperson of this task force is Dr. Kersi Chavda, who has been the president of the Bombay Psychiatry Society. He is also a Consultant at P D Hinduja National Hospital and Sir H. N. Reliance Foundation Hospital. Apart from Dr. Chavda, the task force includes two other members – Dr. Amrit Pattajoshi, as Co-Chair, and Dr. Avinash Desouza, as Convener.
Prior to this, Dr. Chavda was also the Chairperson of the task force for the LGBTQ community, wherein through the efforts and initiative of the LGBTQ task force, the IPS issued a position statement that was quoted by two of the five learned judges, in their final judgement while repealing Section 377.
Dr. Chavda states that the primary focus of the ‘College Psychiatry’ task force will be to bring knowledge, awareness/ realisation and acceptance amongst the Indian public about this huge problem. The task force will have to deal with the stigma and so-called ‘shame’ attached to mental health problems and strive to get the Indian society to understand that a mental health problem is similar to a physical health problem and that both need to be addressed and resolved with proper medical care, attention and treatment.
The next step would be to endeavour to alleviate and resolve the problem, by creating avenues and means to reach out to the affected students and offer them counselling and support. This cycle will have to be repeated, in every targeted geographical area, to ensure maximum possible reach.
The sheer enormity of the problem is evident and the task is uphill. But a start has been made by the IPS. With the right support from the concerned government authorities and the Indian society, we can hope that the problem is addressed on a war footing and that we can get to see some positive and marked changes in the years to come.
At the risk of sounding clichéd, the youth of India are truly our future. We have to nurture and see them blossom, to ensure a strong India in the future.
Our college students urgently need all the help and support that they can get to address and overcome their mental health problems. Knowledge, awareness/realisation, acceptance and prompt counselling are the key to a better life for our college students.
Sources:
• ‘All India Survey on Higher Education’ is conducted by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Higher Education, Government of India.
• Asian Journal of Psychiatry.
• World Health Organization.
• National Mental Health Survey.
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