Pittsburgh Patrika October 2018 issue

The Pittsburgh Patrika, Vol, 24, No. 1, October 2018
Mental Illness, A Worldwide Epidemic:
A Hindu Millennial’s Call to Action
Raashmi Krishnasamy e-mail: raashmik@andrew.cmu.edu
Editor: Raashmi Krishnasamy, currently a senior in Cognitive Neuroscience
major at Carnegie Mellon University, is a passionate advocate
for mental health, particularly within the South Asian community. She
aspires to combine her knowledge of neuroscience with public health
to provide more equitable access to healthcare for individuals with
mental health problems. She is dedicated to preserving her Indian
cultural roots through activities on and off campus. Currently, she
is the Co-Director for Bhangra in the Burgh 12, a nonprofit Bhangra
competition hosted by Carnegie Mellon and Pitt students to raise
money for the Creative and Expressive Arts Therapy program at the
Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
The World Health Organization’s recent report says that by 2020,
depression will be the 2nd leading cause of disease; by 2030, it
is set to outpace heart disease as the #1 cause of disease worldwide. An
estimated 97.5 million people are suffering from mental illnesses in India
alone. The incidence of depression is about one in every twenty Indians
-- roughly 5% of the country’s population. And it’s only getting worse.
Chidren of our Bharat Maata is suffering from a serious mental health
crisis.
Why is the birthplace of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness also home
to about half of the global mental illness disease burden? And why hasn’t
it shown signs of stopping?
The answer is simple – our attitude. We fear sharing our feelings with
others. We judge and fear judgement towards individuals with mental
illness. But most importantly, we fear ourselves, and fear admitting that
we may actually need some help, after all. All of this fear contributes to
strengthening the stigma, forcing us further and farther away from what
we really need—direct confrontation. However, we’re a long way from
tackling this issue face-to-face.
According to the Live Love Laugh Foundation, in a survey of 3,556
respondents from eight cities across India, 47% could be categorized
as being highly judgmental of people perceived as having a mental
illness. Of the 47%, respondents were more likely to say that one should
keep a safe distance from those who are depressed, or that interacting with
a mentally ill person could affect the mental health of others. And the worst
part – 26% were categorized as being afraid of the mentally ill.
But are we afraid of people with diabetes? Or hypertension? Why
should we view mental illness any differently?
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