Last week three women and two men total of five persons brought a 24-year-old young lady to my clinic who was very noncooperative to come with them with a complaint of that she was beating children and biting her husband. When I saw at her, several amulets or talismans popularly known in vernacular language as “Thayathulu” were tied with different coloured threads such as black, red, and yellow with a piece of jewelry or trinket which was thought to protect against evils, devils and diseases. This Thayathu is worn around the neck and arm, people believe this Thayathu can also protect from negative energy and evil eyes, etc., these are made with steel metal or copper metal or some mixing metals. Added to this some creepers of plant origin were also tangled to her neck. On investigating I found that this lady was suffering from a mental illness that her relatives and community people labelled as some devils assaulting her.
When I asked the attendants of that lady who brought her told me that she was often having alterations in consciousness, memory loss, confusion, biting her husband beating the children, and making the house havoc. She was getting hallucinations which means a false perception of objects or events involving senses, sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. Hallucinations seem real, but they’re not. Chemical reactions and/or abnormalities in the brain cause hallucinations. She is also claiming disorientation for herself. When the patient’s cooperation is elicited, recent memory and cognitive functions are usually preserved. Hallucinations are auditory rather than visual. Auditor means hearing some unusual sounds and voices. She was in extreme anxiety and in a hyperventilated stage which is rapid or deep breathing, usually caused by anxiety or panic. This over-breathing may leave a person feeling breathless. In medical terms, this situation is called broadly a psychiatric disorder.
In India, the most prevalent psychiatric issues include depression, anxiety disorders, and bipolar disorder which is a mental illness that involves extreme mood swings, shifts in energy, and changes in activity levels. It’s also known as manic-depressive disorder. Another condition Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by disruptions in thought processes, perceptions, emotional responsiveness, and social interactions. Although the course of schizophrenia varies among individuals, schizophrenia is typically persistent and can be both severe and disabling. It is also seen substance use maladies with a significant portion of the population experiencing mental health concerns due to factors like societal pressures, economic challenges, and limited access to mental health services, leading to a high burden of untreated mental illnesses across the country.
The Major Mental Disorders in India
In 2017, 197.3 million people in India had mental disorders, which was 14.3% of the country’s population. The most common mental disorders in India were depressive disorders and anxiety disorders. Current statistics are awaited. Depressive disorders 45.7 million people, anxiety disorders 44.9 million people IDID it stands for Intellectual or Developmental Disability, 10.8% of total DALYs Schizophrenia 9.8% bipolar disorder 6.9% Conduct disorder 5.9%. It is a mental health condition that causes children and teens to behave aggressively and antisocially. The DALYs stand for “Disability-Adjusted Life Years”. It is a metric used by the World Health Organization (WHO) to measure the overall burden of disease by combining years of life lost due to premature mortality with years lived with disability.
Coming to Mental disorders in adolescents’ anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorder, 4.4% of 10–14-year-olds and 5.5% of 15–19-year-olds experience an anxiety disorder. 1.4% of adolescents aged 10–14 years and 3.5% of 15–19-year-olds experience depression. To discuss mental disorders in women they experience nearly twice as many new cases of depressive and anxiety disorders as men. The contribution of depressive disorders and eating disorders to the total DALYs was substantially higher in females than in males.
According to the publication in the renowned medical journal The Lancet, 20 Dec 2019 also similar statistics were evolved. The burden of mental disorders across the states of India was 197·3 million (95% UI 178·5–216·4) comprising 14·3%, including 45·7 million (42·4–49·8) with depression. Studies indicate a substantial number of people in India suffer from mental health disorders, with prevalence rates varying depending on the study but generally considered high.
Stigma and access barriers:
Even today people hesitate to go to a hospital for mental care with a fear that a known person to see may stamp that patient as a “mental case” A significant stigma surrounding mental health prevents many people from seeking help, while limited availability of mental health professionals and inadequate infrastructure further hinder access to treatment. Further Socioeconomic factors like poverty, unemployment, and stressful life events can contribute to increased risk of mental health issues. Access to mental health services is particularly limited in rural areas, further exacerbating the issue. Certain mental health conditions may affect different genders disproportionately. Lack of awareness of mental health issues in India damages many people as they do not know how to seek help. Untreated mental health problems can significantly impact individuals’ ability to work, maintain relationships, and participate in social activities. Therefore, several innovative government policies are being implemented to improve access to mental health services. Recent initiatives are working to raise awareness about mental health and reduce stigma in both rural and urban pockets.