Mental health is a ticking time bomb in Jammu and Kashmir. Turmoil, joblessness, marital disputes, and financial problems are some of the reasons for precipitating mental health crises in Kashmir. Students have academic pressure, and they worry about employment. Marital disputes and financial crises fuel mental health crises among the middle-aged. Loneliness among the elderly is the biggest cause of old-age depression. Mental health crisis is so grave that Tele-MANAS helpline receives 200 calls a day in the valley. Data reveals that the J&K Tele-MANAS helpline has handled over 1.5 lakh calls. In fact, Jammu and Kashmir is the lead performer in mental health support. Nationwide Tele-MANAS has logged in over 24 lakh calls since its launch in 2022. What has complicated the problem is the social stigma attached to it. Despite awareness, people still consider consulting a psychiatrist a taboo. Moreover, the approach to tackling mental health issues in the valley hasn’t undergone much change. A large section of people still believes that mental illnesses are caused by some unknown supernatural entities and consult a faith healer first before availing proper psychiatric treatment. When patients land at the hospital, it is too late. It takes a lot of time for recovery. Sometimes people have to rely on medicines throughout their lives to avoid the recurrence of panic attacks. Sensing the crisis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for collective efforts to create environments where conversations around mental health become more mainstream. WHO estimates that the burden of mental health problems in India is 2443 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) per 100 00 population; the age-adjusted suicide rate per 100,000 population is 21.1. The economic loss due to mental health conditions, between 2012-2030, is estimated at USD 1.03 trillion. According to the WHO, an enabling environment through national mental health policies and legal frameworks is imperative for effective management of mental health disorders and providing overarching directions for ensuring mental health promotion. This calls for a multisectoral engagement and a life-course approach. In this direction, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda launched several new initiatives for Tele MANAS. These include launching Multi-lingual UI, Chatbot, Accessibility, and Emergency Module. The Tele-MANAS App will now be available in 10 regional languages, in addition to English and Hindi. This step is aimed at providing mental health support in regional languages for enhancing accessibility. A chatbot feature, ‘Asmi’, has also been introduced, allowing users to engage with the app and seek information or help regarding mental health. The government deserves appreciation for taking proactive measures to help fight the mental health crisis. Yet civil society, religious groups, schools, colleges, and universities need to chip in. Educational institutions need to set up special cells where people can be counseled. Likewise, the corporate sector too should have counselling cells. This will go a long way in fighting the mental health crisis.
Ticking time bomb
