Indian women are still reluctant to talk about mental health

Mental health issues are given little importance in India. Psychologists say that if our emotional and mental state is so disturbing that it is interfering with everyday functioning, then it is time to seek professional help.

• Do you believe that women in India are still not talking about mental health?
• What are some of the common mental health issues that you have lately seen in your patients?
• When is  a good time to start seeking help professionally, who should people start speaking to, and how do you recognise that you are undergoing something?
• What are some signs and symptoms that we can look out for?
• Women often resort to speaking to friends or family in such cases, do you think that can help?

Talking about mental health is one the hardest things for people to do. Especially in societies which stigmatise mental illness and show little empathy for those who are suffering. For mental health patients, it is not just challenging to deal with their symptoms or disabilities, but they also have to fight insensitivity, lack of knowledge, apathy, and stereotyping. Studies say that people suffering from mental illness are bereft of opportunities that can help them have a good life, including good jobs, healthcare, and safe housing. It is particularly hard for women dealing with mental illness.

Femoai spoke to Dr. Poojashivam Jaitly, a New Delhi-based clinical psychologist, about women’s reluctance to speak up, the common issues that come up in terms of mental health in India, and the early signs that tell you that you need to seek professional help. Edited excerpts:

Do you believe that women in India are still not talking about mental health?

The one thing that women, of all ages – young women,  middle aged and even older women – don’t talk about is their own mental health issues. When women go to physicians with physical ailments, often their mental health issues get noticed, and the doctor may identify that there is a history to it. Some women come forward on their own, while others are referred by their physicians. Mental health issues are not taken seriously, and it is especially the case with women. In any case, in India, mental health issues are not given a lot of importance.

What are some of the common mental health issues that you have lately seen in your patients?

Stress and anxiety in particular. I see a lot of teenagers and young adults with body image issues; there are also cases of having a lot of unreasonable expectations from oneself, wanting to get more out of oneself, disappointments, and anxiety.

When is  a good time to start seeking help professionally, who should people start speaking to, and how do you recognise that you are undergoing something?

We all go through some form of emotional and mental state which disturbs us, but if that stage is so disturbing that it is interfering with everyday functioning – social-emotional, occupational, then I think it’s time that we seek help.

We all go through some form of emotional and mental state which disturbs us, but if that stage is so disturbing that it is interfering with everyday functioning – social-emotional, occupational, then I think it’s time that we seek help.

What are some signs and symptoms that we can look out for?

A lot of times the signs and symptoms are there but we ignore them. For example, in a week, we might be okay for five days, but for the other two days of the week, we may not be okay. If we know there is a pattern to it and it keeps coming back again and again, then it is a sign of a deeper issue. And, it may not be so interfering with our normal lives all the time, but maybe for those two three days, it is interfering. It is a feeling which is not going away, it is something which is bothering me, then I think it is important that we seek help.

A lot of times the signs and symptoms are there but we ignore them. For example, in a week, we might be okay for five days, but for the other two days of the week, we may not be okay. If we know there is a pattern to it and it keeps coming back again and again, then it is a sign of a deeper issue

Women often resort to speaking to friends or family in such cases, do you think that can help?

People do that very often, but friends and family are not necessarily equipped to deal with it. It’s very important to not wait to take a person to a mental health professional for an issue. I think it is very important that whenever they feel they are unable to deal, there should be a referral made.  It may not be really that we are looking at a diagnosis or a mental health problem per se, but at risk population is something that we need to provide for. I think there is a huge rise in the at-risk population at the moment, who are not really falling into the diagnostic category according to various statistical and diagnostic manuals.

People do that very often, but friends and family are not necessarily equipped to deal with it. It’s very important to not wait to take a person to a mental health professional for an issue. I think it is very important that whenever they feel they are unable to deal, there should be a referral made. 

Sources:

1. Understanding the impact of stigma on people with mental illness. Patrick W Corrigan and Amy C Watson

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