Mar 04, 2025 12:44 PM IST
This article is authored by Lakshmy Ramakrishnan, ORF, New Delhi.
The treatment of mental health disorders is a difficult task due to the highly subjective nature of each case, the varying efficacy of drugs available, and the social stigma associated with mental illness. In India, the treatment gap is steep, but it can be reduced in a number of ways: through concerted efforts by the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries on novel drug development; by leveraging allied technologies such as data science, Artificial Intelligence, and nanotechnology; and by exploring the possibility of psychedelics. Fostering public-private partnerships can spearhead efforts to commercialise cures. Other pathways to improving the mental health landscape include expanding the scale of psychiatry training in medical schools, promoting awareness, and widening the ambit of government initiatives like the helpline Tele-MANAS.
Nearly 970 million people across the world are living with some kind of mental health condition. Mental health problems affect physical and emotional well-being, and can lead to disabilities and premature mortality. These disorders include excessive anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). India’s National Mental Health Survey (NMHS), 2015-2016 estimated that 10.6% of the country’s adults suffer from a mental health disorder. The COVID-19 pandemic, through restrictions on mobility that resulted in social isolation, worsened the mental health situation and raised concerns of a “loneliness pandemic”.
This article can be accessed here.
This article is authored by Lakshmy Ramakrishnan, ORF, New Delhi.
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