Mental Health

Issues

By-
-Tanush
-Saumya
-Kashvi
-Samartha
-Khushi
List Of Contents:-
-> Statement of Purpose •
Why did we choose the topic?
• Our goals and objectives
• The correlation with the
lesson 'Third Level’ of Vistas.
-> Action Plan for the
completion of the assigned
task
.-> Material evidences.
Photographs
-> Essay- Reflection
( research, views and
opinions)
-> List of resources
(articles,podcasts,interview)

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 Statement Of Purpose
Objectives & Goals
Why did we choose
this topic? ➢ Since a long time, mental
➢ Until few years terms like
mental illness were
known or considered as a
stigma. When one speaks
up, others will join in
➢ Talking about mental
health is important for
depression and suicide
prevention. A talk about
mental health is
significant and important
for diagnosis. People
should know that it is
normal to talk about
mental health. Help
yourself and people
around you
Correlation with
third level
health issues are
considered a taboo. ➢ Talking about mental
People are scared to visit health is need of the
psychiatrist because they hour. Having a feeling
fear a judgemental society to escape the reality is
we have. One major goal one of the most
of our research is common signs of us not
removing the taboo in
mental health issues and
being mentally stable.
creating awareness about We can also find such
the same. If you are examples of dealing
having suicidal thoughts with Psychiatric illness
and feeling low all the in the chapter The Third
time, you should speak level of our book the
up and be sure that it is Vistas. Wars and
completely okay to go ongoing pandemics
into therapy. Ignoring can have seeded the idea of
lead to worsening of the escapism in us
condition and even
suicide. Mental health
objectives aim to compare
health & quality of life
 ACTION PLAN

Mental Health affects how we feel, think and act. It is

important at every stage of life so our group decided to
talk about mental health and spread awareness. We
believe that many hands make work light so we divided
the work among group members and everyone was
assigned with different tasks. Kashvi and Saumya went
through various podcasts, interviews, news articles etc.
Tanush and Khushi compiled the work in the form of
softcopy and hardcopy respectively. While Samartha put
in a lot of efforts and wrote an essay. We had a great
experience working on this project. We learnt the value of
team work and importance of mental health.

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 Mental Health-The Hidden Pandemic
What images comes to your mind when thinking of a pandemic? Obviously, they are of coronavirus or doctors
working relentlessly and people suffering. But what will happen if this picture is devoid of doctors? The same fate
is of millions of people with mental illness. They fight a dreaded battle every second but when they look up for
support they find no one around. They fight a hidden pandemic.

According to Ourworldindata, there are about 792 million people with mental health disorders which means one in
every ten people in the world is mentally ill. WHO also estimated that about 7.5 % Indians suffer from mental
illness and labels India as the most depressed country in the world. Also, researchers from NIMHANS (National
Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Science) point out that there are only 0.75 psychiatrists per lakh people in
India. In spite of this, mental health seems to be lost issue in national dailies and frontline media. With so less
professionals to help, today, mental health issues have taken form of a hidden pandemic which is hidden from the
eyes of society because of the stigmas and taboos related to mental sickness

Mayoclinic defines Mental illness as a wide range of mental health conditions- disorders that affect your mood,
thinking and behaviour. Examples include depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders, etc. But
what is affected is much more than this mere definition. What really affected is the quality of life, characterized by
feelings of distress, lack of confidence, hopelessness, low self-esteem, feeling of alienation and demoralization.

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In an interview with NDTV, famous actress Deepika Padukone describes her fight with depression and the society.
She rightly said,' Initially, I felt we were being hush-hush about it’. The same is the condition with every mentally ill
person. Because of the unsupportive behaviour of society, no one opens about it until symptoms worsen. She said
that being a celebrity she had to face stigmas like - she is seeking attention or doing this for a film. But no one cared
about her when she was actually opening about her mental state
Every mentally ill person has to fight a two front war - the one with his own illness and the other with the society. The
biggest stigma attached to mental illness is the word ‘mad’. Every mentally ill person is just directly equated to ‘mad’
in the society. Families and individuals who suffer from mental illness tend to hide it, suppress it and condemn it. In
rural India, the situation worsens where people have a perception that a mentally ill person is overtaken by a ghost or
evil spirit
According to a survey by Deepika Padukone’s NGO- The Live love Laugh Foundation, about 47% Indians think of
mental illness as a social stigma and therefore they try to hide it. People say that a mentally ill person is ‘sad’ and
‘crazy’. The point is that the society takes a person with cancer as a ‘Warrior’ but the same thing is not thought about
a person with mental illness. Instead of giving support by the society, what was given by it to mentally ill people are
the stigmas and taboos.
Hopefully, there are a plenty of solutions to mental health issues. Several medications and therapies like CBT
(cognitive behavioural therapy) help in improving symptoms. However, these things can only help if symptoms are
given treatment. According to a survey, average delay between onset of symptoms after mental disorder and treatment
is about 8-11 years. Three factors- lack of mental health knowledge, stigma and lack of access to care, stop people
from getting treatment.
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In the podcast ‘General Anxiety and Depression' Dr. Mark Burton , psychologist (Salt Lake city, US), tells
ways to cope with anxiety and depression. He says proper sleep of seven hours, aerobic exercises as they
increase blood flow to the brain and meditation and yoga are the three best things for self-treatment. On
depression he said that a major cause is that people don't understand what can be controlled and what can't
be controlled in life. We should not become sad on what can't be controlled in life.
However, things are slowly improving and mental disorders are gaining acceptance in the society. What
needed is a constant stream of funds for educating and creating awareness about mental health and
chronic issues around it. National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) launched by the Government of
India in 1982 aims at introducing ‘life skills training and counselling’ in the various institutions mainly
educational and workplaces. Union budget of 2022-23 announced that a tele-mental health programme
will be launched to provide 24/7 free counselling and care to mentally ill people. In the end it can be
concluded that present efforts are so less that they are like a drop in the ocean. Mental health should be
prioritized by the government because there is no health without mental health.

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 Reflection of Students
Listening to the interviews of Deepika Padukone, Dr. Mark Burton
and Olivia Remes I've got to know that being mentally unstable is
also an ailment and there is no shame in seeking a professional help.
It is equally important to take care of our and others mental health.
~Saumya Nagar

I have realised that stereotypes, discrimination, stigma make mental

health problems worse. It's so important for a person suffering from
mental illness to come out and speak. It's okay to be not okay.
~Khushi Arora

Along with our physical well being, we should also prioritise our
mental health. mental health related issues are a serious problem in
today’s world. around 43.8 million adults experience mental health
illness every year. we should try removing the stigma of mental
illness. if proper medical treatment is not given at the right time, it
can even lead to suicide.
~ Kashvi Thakkar 8
 According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 'Health' is "a state of complete
physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and
infirmity", which means mental well-being is as important a part of an individual's
health as any other aspect of life, but the stigma around mental health and related
illnesses does not allow an individual to seek for help and get the appropriate aid
required. In the current scenario, when the world is facing stressful situations like
never before, we need to start prioritizing our mental health. We need to
encourage ourselves and the people around us to actively seek for help without
hesitation. "There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t.“
~Tanush Adlakha

What will happen if your mind becomes your own enemy? Today, science has proven
that in mentally ill people the chemical messengers in the brain don't work properly.
According to me mentally ill people are the unsung warriors who don't get the care
and support from society they should be given. In present times, mental disorders
have taken form of a hidden pandemic that needs urgent attention of society. We all
should stand by mentally ill people and back themselves so that they should be able
to win this war.
~Samartha Kumar Singh 9
4000

India stands at
3000
0.3 psychiatrist
per 1,00,000
2000 population
according to the
data collected in
1000
2016

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The Stats

.
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Desktop project

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 Bibliography
1. Podcast -
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ykJ7VYQgNhQW69v5U6ylA
Dr.Mark Burton, Psychologist, Saltlake city, US
1. Interview -
https://youtu.be/srGbyn8Ad5E
Deepika Padukone's interview by NDTV on depression
3.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230621476 visited at 11:03 pm, 02-02-2022
4.https://ourworldindata.org/mental-health visited at 9:06 pm, 03-02-2022
5.https://www.ideasforindia.in/topics/human-development/understanding-india-s-mental-health-
crisis.html#:~:text=In%202017%2C%20the%20President%20of,49%20million%20from%20anxiety%20disorders. Visited at 9:20 pm , 03-02-
2022
6.https://researchmatters.in/news/disentangling-india%E2%80%99s-mental-health-distress-does-india-have-resources-control-impending-
mental
visited at 9:52 pm, 03 -02- 2022
7.https://m.economictimes.com/magazines/panache/mental-health-in-india-7-5-of-country-affected-less-than-4000-experts-
available/amp_articleshow/71500130.cms
visited at 10:23 pm 03-02-2022
8.https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mental-illness/symptoms-causes/syc-
20374968#:~:text=Mental%20illness%2C%20also%20called%20mental,eating%20disorders%20and%20addictive%20behaviors.
visited at 12:05 am 04-02-2022
9.http://www.businessworld.in/article/Live-Love-Laugh-Foundation-Unveils-Landmark-Report-On-Public-Perception-Towards-Mental-Health-In-
India/23-03-2018-144415/
visited at 12:22 am 04-02-2022
10.https://www.goodlives.in/mental-health-in-india/ 13
visited at 6:00 pm, 05-02-2022
 Efforts by Class
XII-H
Roll No.’s
Kahsvi-13

Thank you!! Khushi-14

Tanush-35
Saumya- 30
Samartha-28

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