Why mental health in Uttarakhand?

With the upcoming expiration of the millennium development goals in 2015, one of the greatest disappointments has been the lack of inclusion of mental health as a primary global health priority. We don’t have to look far to see how big a problem this issue is. Suicide is the second leading cause of death in 15-29 year-olds worldwide and depression is second leading cause of burden of disease in terms of DALYs. What’s more, mental illness doesn’t discriminate, it affects developed countries just as much as the developing countries – the problem is truly a global one. Around the world, governments, societies and individuals are still adjusting and coming to terms with the concept of mental illness, how it should be managed and the long-term and the wide-reaching ramifications of ignoring mental illness and letting it fester.

International and national studies indicate that at least 5% of the population (around 500,000 of Uttarakhand’s 10 million people) at some stage in their lives will have a mental disorder (1, 2). The vast majority of people with mental health illness in rural India are undiagnosed and untreated. Thousands continue to live in utter loneliness and isolation because they are ostracised by society and cannot access care.

This is because in Uttarakhand, with its 10 million people, there are only 10 psychiatrists. Additionally, the majority of government and private doctors in primary care, have not had the training or support to be confident in the diagnosis and treatment of common or severe mental disorders and may recommend unnecessary and expensive investigations and treatment (3). The plight of such individuals is profoundly compounded by significant stigmatisation, social oppression and discrimination; factors which merely increase barriers to accessing adequate wellbeing services. There is a huge need for improved access to care and for communities to build their own skills in staying mentally healthy.

Furthermore, the devastating floods of 2013 in Uttarakhand and occurrence of significant psychological distress as well as post-traumatic stress responses in the community underline the need for building community skills in mental health.

Vikram Patel is a world-leading expert on mental health in low-resource settings, and the Project Burans structure has been based on the book written by Vikram Patel, "Where There Is No Psychiatrist". The following video is a TED talk that Vikram Patel gave about "Mental Health for all, by involving all".

No matter what your walk of life may be, mental illness can touch your life significantly. No matter what food you eat, what genes you've inherited or where you live, mental illness can affect your life significantly. No matter if you think you've got it all under control, or your life as a painting would look like the canvas after a three-year-old went wild with pots of paint, mental illness can still influence your life significantly.

As well as working on improving the mental health of the under-privileged patrons in Uttarakhand, we think it is just as vital to do this for people around us, those who read this website, those who obviously care enough about the mental health of others but may not concentrate on their own mental health as perhaps they should.

As we ourselves learn more, we'll share with you the statistics, the evidence, the strategies and the advice which can help to mould your life, and those around you, into one which is so mentally healthy that when mental illness tries to breach your defenses, as it most certainly will, you'll know exactly what you need to do to cope and to emerge even stronger.