The Stigma related to Mental Health in India is deep-rooted  in our society and it discourages patients from seeking help. Educating about mental health early on can help remove these stigmas.

Dr. Seikhoo Bishnoi (Associate Professor & HOD Psychiatry, Maharaja Agrasen Medical College, Haryana) speaks about differences in opinions about mental illnesses in Western and Eastern cultures. He explains that while in Western countries patients seeking mental health are often labelled as ‘crazy’ the stigmas in Eastern countries are even more deep-seated.

Analysing the Indian culture Dr. Seikhoo Bishnoi states that in our country, patients seeking mental help are often discouraged from doing so. This is because people believe that the consultation of a psychiatrist or psychologist is not required if life is going along well professionally and their personal and family life appear to be good. However, just like physical illnesses, mental illnesses can also have a biological basis. He explains how biological, psycho-social, and environmental factors can all contribute to mental illnesses.

Another misconception people hold is that if a patient takes medication for mental health, they would become dependent on it for life. Contrarily, there is no stigma involved with taking life-long medication for physical illnesses such as diabetes. This bias is restricted to patients getting treatment for mental disorders.

Dr. Seikhoo Bishnoi states that removing stigmas associated with mental health can help overcome some complications related to the treatment of mental illnesses. According to him, this can be facilitated with early education and acceptance of the prevalence of mental illness in our society.

For further details please watch this video