The Silence Around Mental Health Must End
A person with a fractured arm rarely needs to explain why medical attention is necessary. Someone struggling with depression, however, may have to explain why getting out of bed feels difficult, why ordinary responsibilities seem overwhelming or why life has lost its colour. This difference reveals a persistent failure in how society understands health. On World Mental Health Day, observed every October 10, the world must confront not only the growing burden of psychological distress but also the silence, stigma and inequalities that prevent people from seeking help.
Mental health is not simply the absence of mental illness. It influences how people manage stress, build relationships, make decisions and participate in society. Yet emotional well-being is frequently sacrificed to expectations of success, productivity and constant resilience. Students are pressured to secure high marks, employees are expected to remain available beyond working hours, and families struggling financially often have little room to acknowledge emotional exhaustion. When distress becomes difficult to hide, people may feel ashamed rather than supported.
India’s changing social and economic landscape makes this conversation particularly important. Urbanisation, competitive examinations, insecure employment, rising living costs and the pressures of digital life can leave people feeling isolated despite being constantly connected. Social media presents carefully selected images of achievement and happiness, encouraging comparisons with lives that may bear little resemblance to reality. Young people can become especially vulnerable to cyberbullying, online humiliation and the fear of missing out. However, technology itself is not the enemy; the challenge is to build healthier habits and relationships around its use.
Stigma remains one of the greatest barriers to care. Mental illness is sometimes dismissed as a lack of discipline, excessive sensitivity or a failure to remain positive. Such attitudes can discourage people from discussing their difficulties with family members, approaching professionals or continuing treatment. Silence does not make suffering disappear. It can allow problems to deepen until they affect education, employment, physical health and relationships. Public awareness must therefore replace judgement with understanding and encourage people to seek assistance without feeling that their dignity is at stake.
India has important foundations for improving access to care. The Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, recognises rights relating to mental healthcare, while the National Mental Health Programme and Tele-MANAS helpline seek to expand support. Yet the distance between policy and experience remains significant. Shortages of trained professionals, uneven distribution of services, financial constraints and limited awareness continue to obstruct timely treatment. Mental healthcare must become an integral part of primary healthcare, with stronger district facilities, trained community workers and affordable counselling, particularly in rural and underserved areas.
Educational institutions and workplaces should also become places of prevention rather than additional sources of distress. Schools need accessible counselling and teachers trained to recognise warning signs. Colleges should offer confidential support and address bullying. Employers must take excessive workloads, harassment and burnout seriously instead of treating exhaustion as proof of dedication. Governments, meanwhile, should ensure that awareness campaigns are matched by sustained funding and measurable improvements in access to treatment.
Families have a role that no public programme can entirely replace. Listening patiently, asking thoughtful questions and resisting the temptation to dismiss another person’s feelings can create the conditions for an honest conversation. However, compassion should complement, not substitute for, professional care. Persistent distress, significant behavioural changes or thoughts of self-harm require prompt attention from qualified professionals.
World Mental Health Day must mean more than a social media message or an annual public discussion. Its purpose is to change everyday attitudes and institutional priorities. A society that celebrates achievement but ignores exhaustion misunderstands human progress. A country cannot realise its full potential if millions feel compelled to suffer silently.
The first step towards change is simple, though not always easy: take another person’s distress seriously. The next is to ensure that help is available, affordable and free from shame. Mental health deserves neither whispers nor occasional attention. It deserves a permanent place in our understanding of health, public policy and human dignity.
Siddharth Roy
Guwahati, Assam