MENTAL HEALTH

'Scribbling' by Dr. T. Rama Prasad

The theme for World Mental Health Day 2026 (observed on October 10) is

"Lived Experiences Heard: Real Voices, Real Change," announced by the World Federation for Mental Health and the World Health Organization.

Celebrations on the "World Mental Health Day" in 2026 went on with various phrases bandied around like hard-boiled candy over social media and posters, focussed around the theme, LIVED EXPERIENCES.  "It's okay not to be okay" is one of them.

Mind has many perspectives.  Mindfulness may seem like madness.  In the cases of mild mental aberrations, yes, "it's OK not to be OK", with the societal changes that have been taking place.  Learn to listen and adapt, especially to the younger generations.  "LISTEN TO THEM, don't detain them" --  that's what the Supreme Court told the government in the context of the protests by younger generations in 2026.  The state of the mind in youngsters is a grey area.  It's part of the evolution.  Don't drown them in cocktails of psychoactive drugs thinking that they have mental illness.  Evaluate the problems holistically and counsel them.

Befitting the theme,  there is an admirable and moving article reflecting the LIVED EXPERIENCES of an   exceptionally talented person.  The author, Shaheen P. Parshad has been a patient of mental illness who lived with 'shades of grey'  -- a mix of intermittent joy and sorrow.  He described very candidly his LIVED EXPERIENCES with mental illness which is seldom linear.    He has been a tremendous achiever, qualified well, holding a very good job, and authored several books while he has been mentally unwell and taking varying cocktails of psychiatric drugs for over eight years.  You may be interested to read his article titled "See the shades of grey" published in THE HINDU of October 11, 2026 ( https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/see-the-shades-of-grey/article71544423.ece/amp/

 )

First, the stigma associated with mental illness is to be wiped out.  Many of the people around us have some sort of a mental illness. They should come forward to be diagnosed and treated.  Even though the people around us seem to be normal, they may have some "aberrations" which seem to be normal for them. Some attention-seekers and pampering-lovers behave abnormally when not cared for.  When ego is not cared for, some go into a rage of volcanic outbursts.   Therapy is needed for them.  

Various names are given for various mental disorders --  "Narcissistic Personality Disorder" :  "Solipsist Disorder".   In the words of a famous psychiatrist, Trump is a SOLIPSIST (one who is obsessively the centre of one's own universe, and doesn't care for others' approval unlike NARCISSISTS).  A solipsist firmly believes that whatever he does is absolutely right.  Many in the hierarchy of establishments (public or private) suffer from  this ego and  self-centredness.  When one is obsessed with power, and has excessive hubris and hegemony, mental illness creeps in.  "I think that the president has a decade long public record of lashing out of people who aren't doing what he wants, when and how he wants to do it," Terry Haines, founder of independent think-tank Pangaea Policy, told the BBC.

Having mental illness does not strip one of abilities, worthiness, and dignity.  With the right treatment, , right support, compassion, and patience,  mental illness can be well-managed.  Feeling skittish of mental illness is unwarranted.  Needlessly, people get frazzled on knowing about a psychiatric consultation. 

Key Focus Areas

• Meaningful Inclusion: Shifting from treating individuals with mental health conditions merely as patients to actively involving them, along with their families, in shaping mental health policies, services, and workplace support.
• Deinstitutionalization: Supporting the global push to move away from over-reliance on long-term psychiatric hospitals and toward community-based, rights-based care.
• Real-World Impact: Highlighting data from the WHO's engagement frameworks showing how direct input from people with lived experiences improves legislation, planning, and primary care training.

Key mental health data and statistics in India highlight a growing public health challenge:

Prevalence and Demographics

• Adult Prevalence: About 10.6% of Indian adults live with a diagnosable mental health disorder, and roughly 15% require active intervention, according to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS).
• Lifetime Prevalence: The lifetime prevalence of mental disorders stands at 13.7%.
• Urban vs. Rural: Urban areas report a higher prevalence (13.5%) compared to rural areas (6.9%).
• Gender Disparity: Studies indicate that common mental disorders like depression and anxiety are more frequently reported among women (around 20%) than men (around 10%).
• Youth & Age Onset: About one-third of adult mental health conditions begin by age 14, and nearly half start by age 18. A global youth study also placed Indian youth (ages 18–34) low on the Mind Health Quotient (MHQ) scale.

Treatment Gap and Infrastructure

• Treatment Gap: An estimated 70% to 92% of individuals with mental health disorders do not receive timely or proper treatment due to social stigma, lack of awareness, and resource shortages.
• Provider Shortage: India has approximately 0.75 psychiatrists per 100,000 people, which falls significantly short of the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation of at least 3 psychiatrists per 100,000 people.

Suicide and Mortality Data

• NCRB Data: According to the 2023 National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, 171,418 suicides were recorded in India.
• Gender Split in Suicides: Males accounted for 72.8% of reported suicides, while females accounted for 27.2%.
• Global Burden: The WHO estimates the mental health burden in India at 2,443 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) per 100,000 population, with an age-adjusted suicide rate of 21.1 per 100,000 population.
• 
  
• More than 10 % of Indian adults have some sort of mental illness.   And India has only 0.75 (against the desirable 3) psychiatrists per 100,000 people.

Who is fearless and stress-free  ?

        10,000 steps a day, churning miles on treadmills,  measured diet schedules,  meeting ideal lab norms,  good lifestyle  -- all these did not ward off disastrous health problems.  The cause is STRESS.  Caring for "Mental well-being" should be part of your fitness schedule.  But how ?

        MODERN LIFESTYLE is loaded with fear, STRESS and mental imbalance.  Most of the people know that FEAR may lead to STRESS and that stress may lead to PSYCHOSIS.  But, many may not know the extensiveness of the problem.  Fear of not being able to accomplish according to the set goals and targets --  may be marks, work, promotions, earnings, achievements, expectations, etc  --  may lead to STRESS.  The stress may lead to anxiety, tension, depression and mental disorders, and even suicides.

        One who is makinng 10,000 steps a day may be stressed on reading the article  "Why the 10,000 Steps-a-Day Rule Is More Marketing Than Science"  written by

Dr. Ifeanyi M. Nsofor

3 min read

·

May 8, 2026

        People are increasingly afraid of numerous things, real and imaginary. Media contribute a lot to build up fear.  "COVID FEAR" is an example.  Did it do good or bad.  It's debatable.  "EXAMINATIONS FEAR"  stressed both the students and their parents.   "WORKPLACE FEAR"  impacted both the employees and employers.  Out of fear of death, during the COVID pandemic, STEROID drugs were used indiscriminately.  Many died due to Mucormycosis promoted by the steroids !

• The theme of WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY of OCTOBER 10, 2024 was about "PRIORITISING MENTAL HEALTH IN THE WORKPLACE."  It is so because of the recent escalation of sad and distressing happenings at workplaces.  It may be shocking to know that in India alone 11,486 professionals in the private sector committed suicide due to "overwork."  The brutal work culture is based upon competitive business economy which focuses on cost-cutting, unrealistic profit goals and pressurising to work long hours on strenuous conditions.  Even hospitals are no exception, public or private.  

        There has been a growing mental health crisis in India where success is often equated with relentless productivity and material wealth.  Often, the professionals, including doctors, put up a facade of success and contentment, with the accumulation of wealth.  Urban lifestyle, financial instability and fierce competition often pressurise people to take to grinding work schedules which may lead to mental problems.  suffer from conditions such as depression, anxiety and substance abuse, according to The Lancet Psychiatry Commission.    These days,  everything else is overshadowed by the desire to excel in productivity, affluence and materialism.   While the material gains of over work assure temporary comforts, they fail to meet the emotional and psychological needs of a human being.  Just as "bribe & tips" are viewed as "normal",  "over work & mental aberrations" may be passed off as "normal."  Employers and employees come to justify and consider the gruelling work and the mental deviations as normal,  and the COGNITIVE DISSONANCE THEORY, a psychological concept, would explain how all this is 'normal'.  Donald Trump said that Kamala Harris was 'mentally impaired'.

Dr. Shirish Valsangkar

        On May 16, 2025,  Dr. Shirish Valsangkar shot himself dead.  He looked normal until that day.  He was a renowned, respected and wealthy (owned a helicopter, and an 'Institute and Hospital of Neurosciences') neurologist in Solapur.  Media reports indicate that he was under STRESS during the previous few days.

           During the half-a-century after 1970, the enormously increased psychological stress in education and work had radically changed the lifestyle of people across all ages, making many of them lose their mental balance.  The US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy said (October 13, 2024) that social media has created mental health issues particularly among young people grappling with feelings of inadequacy and isolation through a culture of comparison that impacts self-esteem.  He called for urgent reforms in medical education to better integrate mental health training to address the issues of academic and social pressures on people.

 

June 20, 2026

NEET Retest Tragedy: 12 Students Die By Suicide In 37 Days After Exam Cancellation

12 Students Die By Suicide In 37 Days After Exam Cancellation

timesofindia.indiatimes.com › home › videos › videoshow

3 hours ago · At least 12 aspirants reportedly died by suicide in the 37-day period between the cancellation of the original examination and the scheduled ...

Most of the stress comes to the students at home through the parents who go on pressurising them to study more to score high marks to get into a particular study course.  This attitude makes the students feel that the exam result is 'the be-all and end-all'.  That made some of them end their lives, and some of them mentally ill.

Who is fearless and stress-free  ?

           WARS have been going on out of fear.  "TERRITORIAL FEAR" and "EXISTENTIAL FEAR"  launch wars.  A huge geo-political issue.  America is afraid of China, and China is afraid of America;  Ukraine is afraid of Russia, and Russia is afraid of Ukraine, and so on.   It resulted in all sorts of stress which is leading to widespread psychological illness.   Politicians are no exception.  They make aberrant and insane statements.  And attack with bitter diatribes.  See the news and cartoons below.

Yes, Mr Trump.  Most of the people, including celebrities like you, are 'impaired' due to stress !   What happens when they are voted to power !

Years ago, not cognisant of his bias, the POTUS declared that HCQ drug would wipe away COVID and wondered why disinfectants were not injected into the body to get rid of the virus !

He had the "Mind Power" and the needed resilience to go back to the White House again.

        Many of the diseases which we see nowadays are due to psychological stress.  They have been on the increase during and after the COVID pandemic.  Often, we investigate those cases a lot and find no organic disease.

            A recent revelation by the National Medical Commission brought to focus  a shocking situation.  We used to think that medical people are more strong psychologically, and mentally very fit to counsel patients.  Read the following facts.

The psychological pressure made many a NEET student and a medico mentally wreck.  The specialists in the profession are no exception.  They are all stressed.    The stress made many doctors commit mistakes and malpractices which earned them the name 'butchers'.

"The NATIONAL MEDICAL COMMISSION (NMC) has revealed in August 2024 that an alarming number of medical students have MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS and suicidal ideation.   This problem is present among other students also, and also among the public.  More so, after the onset of the COVID pandemic.  This seems to be a part of the evolution due to the changes in mindset and lifestyle, and the resultant STRESS in life with increasingly unrealistic goals seems to be inescapable.  Is not TRUMP having mental health issues ?  Who is not, even Kamala Harris has, says Donald Trump !!!"  --  Dr. T. Rama Prasad.  https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com

     During the half-a-century after 1970, the enormously increased psychological stress in education and work had radically changed the lifestyle of people across all ages, making many of them lose their mental balance.  The medical chief of the US (Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy) said (October 13, 2024) that social media has created mental health issues particularly among young people grappling with feelings of inadequacy and isolation through a culture of comparison that impacts self-esteem.  He called for urgent reforms in medical education to better integrate mental health training to address the issues of academic, economic and social pressures on people.

 

The FLUBS & FAUX PAS  are due to stress  ...  very entertaining.  we missed them after you had withdrawn from the Presidential Race.

  CELEBRITY YOUNG HEART DEATHS:  A 42-year-old Rohan Mirchandani, CEO of Greek Yogurt brand Epigamia died of a sudden cardiac arrest onDec 21, 2024.  A 36-year-old Rohan Malhotra, Co-founder of VC firm Good Capital passed away due to cardiac arrest on Oct 3, 2024.  A 51-year-old Ambareesh Murty, Co-founder of Pepperfry Furniture company died due to heart attack in Aug 2023.  There are scores of such cases, celebrities and common people.  50% of all heart attacks in Indian men occur under 50 years of age, rich or poor.

Stress may be among the many factors responsible for these untimely deaths.

STRESS starts at LKG and ends at graveyard.

Go back to villages and lead a stress-free life.  Not possible ?  Then, learn to live with stress.

For GORU, the stress ended during her childhood.
An anecdote about  “GORU” 

During my childhood, one of my schoolmates had huge nails.  Her name was Gowri.  We nicknamed her as ‘Goru’ (‘goru’ in Telugu means nail of a finger or toe ).  They used to say that her huge nails caused a problem in her heart.  It might be a case of ‘Digital Clubbing’ (abnormal nails present in some ‘Congenital Heart Diseases’).  After one summer vacation, ‘Goru’ didn’t come back to the school.  It was learnt that she died due to the nail / heart problem, and that treatment could not be availed as they didn’t have money to pay for it. 

Perhaps, this incident prompted me to look at everyone’s nails from that time which might have led me to report the first case from India of ‘Yellow Nail Syndrome (YNS)’ from India in 1980 (published in an American journal, CHEST) and the first case in the world of ‘Yellow nails & Covid’ in 2023, published in an Indian journal, THE ANTISEPTIC - https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2017/04/yellow-nail syndrome_28.html

And perhaps, the preventable death of ‘Goru’ due to the inability to pay for the treatment motivated me to start my ‘PAY WHAT YOU CAN’ Clinic (PWYCC) half-a-century ago where patients may pay whatever they can. No fixed fee ( http://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2017/06/pay-what-you-can-clinic.html ).   The credit for these case reports on YNS and the starting of my PWYCC should go to ‘Goru’.  Thanks to “Goru”.

                                                        --     T. Rama Prasad

 

More at : https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2017/04/dr-t-rama-prasad.html  

This is not an ad,  it’s about an odd service.

GREETINGS  from

‘PAY  WHAT  YOU  CAN’  Clinic

“Thena  thyakthena  bhoojithaha”– Ishopanishad

   ( Translated by  Prof. B.M. Hegde  as: “Rejoice  in  giving.”)

          True to this quote, I have been rejoicing at what little I could give.  Defying stereotypes, this clinic has been in existence for a very long time, sans glitz, blitz, ads, microphones, speeches and noise.  As a matter of my policy, publicity is shunned.  The reason is simple.  Good work needs no noise and nonsense.  My ‘SCRIBBLINGS’ on related topics may be accessed at:  http://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com

 

 

My consultation fee is not decided by me.  It is the patient’s pleasure. The patient may pay (donate) whatever he can and what he wishes.  If one is short of money, he or she need not pay anything.  The money may just be put into the ‘hundi’ box kept outside the consultation room.  And the money thus received is used for charity to help the needy, the poor and the less fortunate.  If interested to know more about this facility, go to: http://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2017/06/pay-what-you-can-clinic.html . 

          "We need not run after money.  If we are meritorious and compassionate, money would run after us, and it eludes us if we run after it.”      --  T. Rama Prasad

            “Richness is not having lots of money.  It is the feeling that one has enough of it.   Contentment sans comparison is what makes one really rich.”     --  T. Rama Prasad.      

 

              Facebook: T Rama Prasad   Twitter: @DrRamaprasadt     Telegram :  Dr T Rama Prasad

Consult your local doctor before rushing to me

Most ailments can be cured at local level

Go back to villages and lead a stress-free life.  Not a possibility ?  Then, learn to live with stress !

The following is a list of some of my 'scribblings', including a few from the 28 articles on COVID published in a monthly medical journal in 30 months (a world record).   To open them, click on any of the titles.  --  T. Rama Prasad

 

Blog Archive

·   ▼  2017 (115)

o  ▼  March (1)

§ COVID MEDICAL LITERATURE

o  ▼  April (112)

§ OREIKLE

§ DEEPAAVALI

§ Science and Nonsense about COVID

§ AMC BATCH 1959 (revised)

§ Nurses Day 2017

§ FOOD, EXERCISE and SLEEP

§ OMICRON -- a paper tiger ?

§ World TB Day: TB and COVID

§ INDIAN ENGLISH

§ MY QUOTES & JOKES

§ COVID, SCHOOLS & CHILDREN

§ LOCKDOWN MEDICINE

§ Death Penalty

§ COVID CROCODILES

§ Number 13

§ WORLD CANCER DAY ..February 4, 2017

§ CORONA VARIANTS

§ PERUNDURAI is the GEM

§ Covishield or Covaxin ?

§ GRADUATION DAY -- 2018, Perundurai Medical Col...

§ "AHIMSA"

§ STAFF & STUDENTS. -- photos

§ SINGAPORE

§ BRINGING UP CHILDREN

§ HAPPY 2018

§ Dr. T. Rama Prasad

§ OMICRON

§ QUOTES

§ POLLUTION, Disease and Deepaavali

§ CESAREAN DELIVERY

§ DOCTORS' HANDWRITING MATTERS

§ RAJYALAKSHMI and SPB

§ PONGAL FESTIVAL

§ To live in INDIA or ABROAD ?

§ THE HINDU newspaper & ME

§ KMCH

§ FISHES

§ RICHNESS and HAPPINESS

§ YELLOW NAIL SYNDROME

§ BIRDS and DANGEROUS DRUGS

§ ABDUL KALAM

§ SUNDAY LUNCH ... Dec 3, 2017

§ VINAYAKA chathurdhi 2017

§ BAHUBALI

§ COMPLEXION

§ DENGUE, ZIKA and MOSQUITO

§ FOOLED TO BELIEVE

§ DIABETES

§ TUBERCULOSIS in India

§ MY ART

§ CIVIC SENSE & MANNERS

§ SMILE and STRESS

§ CANCER

§ DOGS

§ GOD-MEN

§ CODUP

§ LOCKDOWN MEDICINE -- too toxic ?

§ GOD, RELIGION & UNIVERSE

§ CORONA and CHARLES DARWIN

§ YOGA

§ HCQ, IVERMECTIN, CORONAVIRUS and FRAUDS

§ INDIAN SUPERBUG

§ SWINE FLU -- A (H1 N1) influenza

§ NIPAH & ZIKA viruses

§ SOPHISTICATED CHEATING

§ PERUNDURAI MEDICAL COLLEGE & SANATORIUM campus

§ RAJYALAKSHMI RAMAPRASAD and PLANTS

§ MY REAL AWARDS

§ GIRL CHILD : GOLDEN CHILD ; WOMEN POWER

§ ALLERGY, ASTHMA, COPD and ILD

§ TEST-TUBE PUPPIES

§ CREATE / KILL a baby

§ ONAM 2017

§ OPEN AIR DEFECATION

§ DRESS SENSE

§ SEXUAL HARASSMENT

§ RAPE

§ THE CHANGING WORLD

§ MARRIAGE and MATING

§ TEA, COFFEE and COMMERCE

§ DEVALUED DEGREES

§ SCHOOL EDUCATION and NEET

§ INCREDIBLE INDIA !

§ MARKETING TRICKS & INNOVATIONS

§ INTERNET EFFECT

§ RURAL ARE THE REAL

§ MEDICINE IN RURAL INDIA

§ RUN ON MONEY

§ MEDICAL CONFERENCES

§ Dr. Peon, PhD

§ MODERN MEDICINE -- the Good, the Bad and th...

§ YOU ARE NOT OLD

§ MOTHER-IN-LAW

§ RAJYALAKSHMI & International Women's Day 2024

§ SHIVA, KRISHNA, Ramanuja & Ramanujan

§ BETTER HALF

§ OUR LOVE STORY & good old days

§ 'PAY WHAT YOU CAN' Clinic

§ ABOUT ME and MY SCRIBBLINGS

o  ▼  May (2)

§ FICUS trees and GODS

§ Post-Omicron Peregrination

·   ▼  2019 (1)

o  ▼  January (1)

§ AMC batch 1959

·   ▼  2020 (3)

o  ▼  February (1)

§ OVER-HEALTHCARE

o  ▼  April (1)

§ RAJYALAKSHMI RAMAPRASAD and RADIOGRAM

o  ▼  June (1)

§ CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2)

·   ▼  2022 (1)

o  ▼  October (1)

§ VCW Rajyalakshmi, BLOG

·   ▼  2023 (17)

o  ▼  January (15)

§ RIGHT or WRONG ???

§ MONKEYPOX (Mpox)

§ TUBERCULOSIS -- drug-resistant

§ LONG and SHORT of COVID

§ MENTAL HEALTH

§ VERSHA, alias Vega

§ FEAR, STRESS and PSYCHOSIS

§ HEART

§ ZERO COVID

§ INDIAN IMMUNITY, BCG and COVID

§ WOW !!!

§ ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

§ COVID vaccines -- Safe or Unsafe ?

§ COVID -- ANTISEPTIC JOURNAL

§ MEDICAL SYSTEMS

o  ▼  August (1)

§ RAMAYAAN

o  ▼  October (1)

§ NEET SAGA

·   ▼  2024 (1)

o  ▼  May (1)

§ THE NOBLE PROFESSION