Globally, psychiatrists are held in very high regard. Even more is that schools, colleges, office places, and every institution has its own designated psychiatrist. This is to ensure the mental and emotional well being of all their individuals. Having a psychiatrist available on-site always will help individuals seek immediate help when they need it.
Although, the scenario in India is quite the opposite. Psychiatry is not held with high regard and any individual visiting a psychiatrist may be put off due to societal pressure. Psychiatry doctors do not get the respect they deserve like other fields of doctors. Visiting a psychiatrist is considered taboo. People are looked down on for going to a psychiatrist to get help or resolve any underlying problems.
Psychiatry In India
Psychiatry is a highly commendable profession that does not get the respect it deserves in India. Psychiatrists are doctors that are trained and well educated in their field of expertise.
Being a psychiatrist is not easy as it requires a lot of work towards upholding laws and professional etiquettes. Psychiatrists have a professional duty to keep all their patient’s conversations confidential. A failure to do so could bring about a lot of legal repercussions.
As a profession, it is one that can be very demanding on the person offering Mental health treatment. This makes the respect given to it in India a very pitiful situation. As an individual sometimes one may need to seek professional help. But the pre-existing notion that only someone that is mentally ill will need to get treated by a psychiatrist can be severely demeaning for any person seeking help.
India Needs to Look Towards Psychiatry not Away
India is a country with a large population that is extremely competitive. The competitive spirit and need to do better can be very pressuring. From a very young age, children are nurtured and pushed to work very hard to be successful. At a very tender age, kids are subjected to hours of work into studying, developing extra-curricular skills, other training, etc,.
Such constant drilling into building up for a future career can cause undue stress. Kids are subjected to enormous scrutiny by family and society. Always with someone looking over their shoulder. The need to strive hard to achieve success can have its own detrimental effects over time.
Mental health is highly stigmatized in the country with the need for professional help being dismissed. But if this situation could be altered we could see people have a much more self-satisfying life. The result of seeking help could help lighten one’s pressure, stress, depression, and frustration at life itself.
India as a country looks to build forward into the future as a superpower and is a very forward-moving country. In order to achieve this, the stigmatization against mental health must change.
The country must open up towards the serious underlying issues of mental health. Any person in need of professional help must feel comfortable seeking it not overly-pressured by societal norms.
Numbers that Tell a Tale
Suicide is a very common occurrence in India. One can just take a glance at any newspaper daily and see numerous such stories. In fact, 7% of the total world suicide is contributed by Indians.
The numbers grow higher in the case of women as it is the 6th highest. A rough estimate of 34% of Indians commits suicide due to either physical or mental illness.
This underlying statistics speaks volume as to the need for a psychiatry help in the country. Although, the larger parts of the population scorn and would like to believe otherwise.
A certain openness to mental illness and a more friendly approach could see these numbers go way down with people living happier lives.
High-Stress Jobs of the Cities
The major cities in the country are full of people working in various fields in immensely stressful jobs. The lifestyle of people in cities can be very erratic due to the stress of a job, family, and other economic factors.
Bangalore is the IT hub and people flock to the city in search of jobs. This makes it a very driven city with the need for excellence and perfection from employees.
The readily available resources of people needing treatment make the constant need to perform in any given role very high. This can make an individual undergo various mental illnesses and not be able to speak about it.
A private practice psychiatrist in Bangalore is of utmost importance as one can freely discuss all work-related or personal problems with a professional. This way any individual can seek required help and cope with the stress of daily life in a much more constructive manner.
