'Stigma A 'Silent Epidemic', Hindering Access To Care For Mental Health'

New Delhi- Stigma and lack of awareness are among the major roadblocks towards making care for mental health conditions accessible to people who require help, experts have said, while underlining that early diagnosis is key to better treatment.

“People hesitate to even acknowledge mental illness,” said Dr Neerja Agarwal, a psychologist and the founder of Emoneeds, which provides care to people struggling with mental health problems.

She said it is important to recognise mental illness as a health condition and should be treated as such, not as a personality flaw.“Just as diabetes and blood pressure need lifelong treatment, so too do conditions like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder,” Dr Agarwal said.

Dr Deepika Dahima, a scientist at AIIMS, Delhi, also pointed out that stigma remains one of the greatest silent epidemics surrounding mental health in India.

“It is not the illness alone that debilitates individuals, but the shame, secrecy and silence that accompany it. In many households, a psychiatric diagnosis is still perceived as a threat to family honour, marriage prospects, or social standing. This cultural weight deepens suffering, isolates people, and deters them from seeking timely care,” she said.

Dr Agarwal emphasised the need for consistency in following medical advice for treating mental health issues.“Only then can patients live a normal life.”

Her Emoneeds colleague, Dr Prerna Chaudhary, spoke of a marriage on the brink of collapse because the woman's parents stopped medication in the days leading up to her marriage.“She suffers from schizophrenia. Her husband left her soon after the wedding, citing her mental illness,” the psychologist said.

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