Awareness gap fuelling mental health disorders in young Indian adults: Experts

Lack of awareness on timely treatment is fuelling mental health disorders in young Indian adults said health experts on Wednesday January 28Speaking at the 77th Annual National Conference of the Indian Psychiatric Society ANCIPS 2026 leading mental health experts noted that the excess use of digital devices may further drive mental disordersThe highlevel scientific deliberations revealed that nearly 60 per cent of mental disorders in India are diagnosed in individuals below the age of 35They pointed out that the Covid19 pandemic combined with economic uncertainty and changing social structures has further intensified stress anxiety and depressive symptoms in this age groupldquoWhen 60 per cent of mental disorders are affecting people below 35 years of age it becomes clear that Indiarsquos mental health crisis is unfolding far earlier than we once believed These are the years when individuals are studying building careers and contributing to societyrdquo said Dr Deepak Raheja Organising Secretary of ANCIPS DelhildquoExcess use of digital devices and dependency on the virtual world will further increase mental issues in the future One of the main reasons for the rising cases in India is a lack of awareness of timely treatment If reported on time almost all the mental disorders can be treated successfully and patients can lead a normal liferdquo added Dr Nimesh G Desai former Director of the Institute of Human Behaviour amp Allied Sciences IHBASDesai emphasised that mental disorders that begin in youth often follow a lifelong course if not treated earlyldquoThese impact not just the individual but families workplaces and the countryrsquos overall productivity Psychiatry in India must move from a reactive approach to a preventive and earlyinterventiondriven modelrdquo he saidThe experts cautioned that when mental disorders begin early and remain untreated they often become chronic leading to longterm disability and high social and economic costsldquoRapid social change has significantly altered young peoplersquos lived experiences Todayrsquos youth are dealing with intense academic competition constant digital comparison loneliness despite connectivity and uncertainty about employment and relationships Mental health services must adapt to these realities and become more accessible youthfriendly and stigmafreerdquo said Dr Savita Malhotra President of the Indian Psychiatric SocietyRaheja said that early identification school and collegebased mental health programmes and destigmatisation are no longer optional they are essential if we want to protect the future of our nationThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever