Mainstreaming Mental Illness Is Long Overdue
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A JOURNAL OF THE PRESS INSTITUTE OF INDIA ISSN 0042-5303 January-March 2021 Volume 13 Issue 1 Rs 60 Mainstreaming mental illness is long overdue CONTENTS • For institutionalised children, it’s a In January this year, Future Generali India Insurance came up long battle / Rina Mukherji with a series of advertisements on mental health issues. The • Away from school, where the mind ads made a lot of viewers sit up, especially those in families savours each moment / Janani Murali • Making a case for climate activism / having to take care of a member suffering from mental health Bharat Dogra issues, says Manjira Mazumdar. Mainstreaming health issues • Creating awareness silently / is long called for, and the media can play a huge role in it, she Sayanika Dutta says • Profiteering even from a pandemic / Sakuntala Narasimhan here is no insurance for patients hospitalised due to mental ill- • The environmental impacts of nesses. Outpatient department patients usually are covered, only if the economic package / S. Gopikrishna Warrier the OPD benefit clause includes counseling and therapy. However, T • Has the private sector failed with COVID-19, there was a marked increase in people suffering from to live up to expectations? / anxiety and depression. This led to Insurance Regulatory and Develop- N.S. Venkataraman ment Authority (IRDAI) instructing health insurance companies cover • Healthy discussions, impressive policy holders who are mentally ill – those who resort to opiods and anti- sales, more committed readers / depressants due to clinical depression, or any other neurodegenerative or Nava Thakuria psychiatric disorders. • Longest running English journal in India celebrates 125 / But how many people in India talk about mental health? It is not at all Mrinal Chatterjee an easy matter to deal with because of the several grey areas, which cannot • A look at the representation of be defined as in physical health issues. It creates havoc in families where the Dalit in Hindi cinema / any kind of mental disorder occurs in a member or members, leading to Shoma A. Chatterji mishaps and deaths. It is so stigmatised that the seriousness of it all tumbles • A grassroots radio initiative out only when no longer can it be swept under the carpet. knits together the Hajongs / Ankuran Dutta With the rising number of such patients, there are newspaper reports • A marvel of a mountain rail line, all and analysis, which society tends to gloss over, but mass media can play thanks to a sage / Sarita Brara a bigger role. TV commercials bring things right into your living room. So • A paean to Lord Muruga / do commercial films. Meenakshi Devraj “So mass media has its role cut out,” says Kolkata-based Jhuma Basak, a • Time running out for two clinical psycho-analyst who has been associated with several media schools exceptional tennis champions / in the city. “But first, mental health has to be acknowledged as part of our Partab Ramchand overall well-being and not something separate.” • Of culinary adventures... and patriarchy / Ranjita Biswas A couple of India insurance companies have started customised plans for • Remembering: Pothan Joseph / mental illnesses as part of their health plans, and advertising these plans Dr V. Shanta / Christopher Plummer / Fr Gaston Roberge (Continued on page 3) January-March 2021 VIDURA 1 FROM THE EDITOR Even as vaccines bring hope, we have tough issues to grapple with 020 was quite an extraordi- mental health? Occasional news- arrest and subsequent release. I do nary year, wasn’t it? Ever paper reports and analysis, which not wish to dwell on it except to say 2since COVID-19 cast a large society tends to gloss over, are not that Bharat Dogra, senior journal- shadow across the world early really enough, she feels. More than ist in Delhi, sums it up fairly well March last year, life has changed. 90 million Indians, or 7.5 per cent when he says that the movement of Even as people across the world of the country’s population, suffer young people to protect the envi- have tried hard to adjust to the new from some form of mental disorder, ronment and check climate change normal, the staggering number of according to the World Health Orga- is very relevant in today’s times and deaths – more than 2.63 million so nization (WHO). WHO states that in it should not be given a bad name, far – have left us shell-shocked. The India the number of psychiatrists, nor should unfair allegations be early part of this year has brought nurses, psychologists and social made because of an unintentional some hope and cheer. The vaccines workers is abysmally low. mistake. “These young people are have arrived. According to data Rani Mukherji feels that children the future, they are the ones who collected by Bloomberg, more than are one of the lowest priorities of the will save the future.” 334 million doses have been admin- government. Notwithstanding the Sayanika Dutta’s story about istered worldwide across 121 coun- emphasis on aftercare in the Juve- Minangka Deka is quite inspir- tries (as I write this). It is the biggest nile Justice Act, 2015, and a range of ing. When the virus struck, Deka vaccination campaign in history. other schemes, there has been very initially took to social media to Anthony Fauci, the top infectious- little support for skilling and equip- spread awareness regarding the disease official in the US, has said ping children for independent liv- WHO guidelines. Using mime, that vaccinating 70-85 per cent of ing, she points out. Without basic he shared the dos and don’ts and US the population would enable a life skills or vocational skills, they sought to debunk the myths. Deka return to normalcy there. The same are unable to stand on their own also partnered with the Govern- parameter can be applied to any feet, forget even having the ability ment of Assam to raise awareness country. A staggering ask, indeed. to manage finances and save. on the use of face masks for safety. In India, with literacy levels low in Janani Murali has come up with And, finally, don’t miss Ankuran many parts, lack of medical care a rather interesting proposition. Dutta’s story about the Hajong and and infrastructure to reach vaccines Children continue to be slotted Radio Brahmaputra, the first grass- and get people vaccinated, we can- across a spectrum of ‘smart to dull’ roots community radio in upper not even imagine the kind of battle based on teaching and assessment Assam. It’s an interesting story involved. Let us hope that together methods that they have no say in, about how a not-for-profit initiative we will be able to overcome the she says. With the result that indi- has united a small scheduled tribe odds. viduality is constantly crushed and that has been largely ignored by the looked down upon. Although many mainstream media. ****************** adults belonging to earlier genera- tions have endured and lived with Sashi Nair We have in this issue tried to throw low self-worth, the challenges of the [email protected] the spotlight on some of the other current day have shown us, Murali issues that continue to worry us. is convinced, that our intentions, Mental health is one. Manjira our choices and our lifestyles all Mazumdar says mental health has need some ‘unschooling’ for sure. to be acknowledged as being a “Caught in the never ending stream part of our overall well-being and of ‘what next’ from playschool to that we have to bring the subject university and beyond, it is time we into our conversations. Can mass pause and reflect.” media play a more productive role A lot has been written about cli- in highlighting issues relating to mate change activist Disha Ravi, her 2 VIDURA January-March 2021 (Continued from page 1) with interesting advertisements. The Generali Insurance ads are communicated over objects. Take the case of an overworked pillow which has to absorb nightly tears. Or objects that are smashed around the house. Instead of people, these objects bear the brunt of anxiety, sadness, anger, and erratic and unpredictable behavior. The commercials created by advertising agency Wondrlab, forms the second part of the cam- paign by Future General Insurance titled #HealthInsideOut. Ruchika Varma, chief marketing officer, Future Generali India Insurance is Mental health is often so stigmatised that the seriousness of it all tumbles out only when quoted to have said in an interview, it can no longer be swept under the carpet. “Today more than 7.5 per cent in India suffer from some form of films such A Beautiful Mind and As sensitive. For instance, she explains, mental illness and WHO estimates Good as It Gets from Hollywood. objects being smashed or being that this number would be 20 per However, considering how manhandled can also send a signal cent by the end of this year. Despite Parveen Babi was viewed com- that violence is part of every men- these staggering statistics, mental pared to someone like Deepika tal health issue. “That is simply not health is a taboo topic in India.” Padukone who has gone public in true,” she says. “We all suffer from Mental health is a wide spec- discussing her depression, things stress, anger, mood swings, or bot- trum condition. In an old Hindi have changed a lot. Though both tled up emotion at some point or classic film like Khamoshi, we saw have had different symptoms, anxi- other in our lives. Some are intellec- how taking care of mental health ety and depression are offshoots of tually sophisticated or more evolved patients can result in the caregiver larger mental problems like schizo- to keep it under control.