The Great Indian Depression

-          Not the 2008 Market Depression

October 10^th is considered as mental health day but somehow our great nation has failed to face and deal with the stark reality about mental illness and how to treat it. Hence the WHO has given the title of the Most Depressed Nation in the world to India. 36% of Indians admit having faced depression at some point in their lives. People who approach facilities to treat themselves and get our mental illness are less than 10% of the entire population. The sad story behind this fact is that mental illness is equated to madness and is considered as taboo. So, if news breaks out, that you had to take your daughter to a psychiatrist-The new word in the street is ‘She is Mad’. Hence most parents often choose to keep these things under wraps.

Most of the deaths that occur to young people due to depression are suicides. The reason that this fact is rattling is because our nation is a “young nation” with regard to demographic distribution. We have more people on the younger side compared to most countries around the world and this is one of the biggest factors that is going to drive our economy to the double digit trillion GDP. Now, if our youth is depressed and mentally unstable, we are not going to witness that prosperity very soon. There is a factor of genetics involved, but psychiatrists argue that it is a culmination of genetics and the immediate changes in the environment that build up this bubble. So, it’s like saying that, if a genetically vulnerable person is exposed to the sudden disruptive changes in the environment, then the output becomes lethal. Now these sudden changes in the environment are more connected to the rapid changes in technology than anything else out there. The penetration of social media and the concept of influencers have put a dent in the digital sphere to such an extent that sometimes our youth tend to slip more into the comfort of the virtual world than face the harsh challenges of the real world. 

All the information out there in the internet are floating around from webpage to webpage. You might only need a bit of common sense to understand the causes of it. But it takes a lot more than common sense to deal with a mentally ill person and to find out a cure for the individual. This is largely due to confusion, lack of awareness, propaganda and mostly, because of the fact that people are ashamed to seek help. Now even if people start seeking help – they don’t find it. There are only about 4000 psychiatrists for a country with a population of about 1 billion. That is one of scariest and alarming facts related to the mental health care scenario in India. 

How do you solve this issue? How can you treat a nation that is undergoing depression at an alarming rate? How do you find out if your teenager son or daughter is under constant depressive stress? The answers to these questions are still being debated at some of the highest community gatherings and conferences going on around our country. So, let me just tell you what I feel needs to be done based on my observation of the immediate environment around me. 

As the old saying goes – Catch them while they are young. I read an article about McDonald's targeting kids under 10 years of age and giving out free breakfast deals and other family coupons. Some of their advertising was strongly focused on these kids rather than the adults. The reason for this sudden shift in demographic was because of the fundamental theory of catching them while they are young. After intensive research they came up to the conclusion that the kids who fell in love with their burgers will turn out to choose their burgers over any other competitor no matter wherever they travel around the world. Some of the youth have admitted that they always search for a McDonald's wherever they go even though they understand that it’s still junk food. This is the fundamental principle which I believe we need to stick to when trying to address this problem. 

We need to get to these kids while they are still trying to figure out how the world works. We need to make sure that these kids are taught about tech and how it works rather than just handing them an I-Pad, so that they will sit quietly in a corner and lurk into their own worlds. Once a child understands that technology is a tool – they will start to use it in a way that it was originally designed for, and not as an escape portal into a virtual world. The reason I emphasis technology here is because, it is one of the things that keeps on updating itself without any government around the world having any control over it. You simply cannot stop the human race from innovating. We have decided to go after goals without morals. A quick million-dollar capital raise is more appreciated than an NGO that teaches kids the English language. The value system needs to come back and technology needs to take a step back when the kids are under 10 years old.

 According to renowned author Dr. Bruce Lipton, Kids below the age of 7 years have their brain waves in the theta state. And in this state, they have the imaginative capacity that lets them play with imaginary friends and dolls. That is why you see these kids talking and conversing with their imaginary companions. This is good, because not only are they improving the creativity side but also awakening certain parts of the brain through re-configurations. But when you give a kid a 6-inch screen to play with. You literally kill his/her creativity power right at that moment. But instead if you give the kid an intro into the world of tech without giving them the product, that creates a different memory box in their brain. They need to be taught that this screen is not a part of their world and is only a tool. Again, some of you reading this article might be thinking- Can a 6-year-old really understand about the internet and how social media works? Well, my answer to that – You never know, until you try. Break the taboo and let your kids understand which is tech and which is trap. 

We are poised to become one of the most powerful economies in the world in the coming years – but we cannot do that by sacrificing our peace of mind. We cannot be rich and powerful when our youth is tired and dreadful. Mental illness does not mean that your child is mad and needs to be put in chains. It happens to the best of us. Some of us deny it. Some of us don’t see it, But the truth is everyone takes a hit.

Let me conclude this article by quoting Henry Ford “If you think you can & if you think you can’t, you’re right”. This emphasize how much attitude matters in success of our lives. It is time to stop stigmatizing mental health and start confronting with it.

You can and you know it.

God Bless India         

For Your Amigos Foundation- Authored By Smruthi Aravind, Bharata Mata College Kochi