Mental health: Not destination, but the process

Mpower and Medix Global hosted an online briefing with Dr Neerja Birla, founder and chairperson of Mpower and Sigal Atzmon, founder and CEO of Medix Global, to discuss a new strategic partnership in the Indian mental health sector

V Aishwarya | NT

Bengaluru: According to Dr Neerja Birla, “Domestic violence, anxiety and other disorders increased during the pandemic, which made mental health more prominent. Teenagers experienced a sharp rise in substance abuse, suicide and interpersonal problems, which had a significant impact on their conduct.

Since young people represent the nation's future, it is crucial to comprehend and assist them in resolving mental health problems they may be experiencing.” “The main effect of these mental disorders on young people was reduced productivity, which caused them to lose interest in practically everything,” she added.

"The purpose is not only to enhance mental wellness," said Sigal Atzmon, going on to add, “Promoting awareness and making others aware of how vital it is to address mental health are equally significant. A majority of Indian youth are afraid to discuss significant difficulties with their parents because they don't understand the urgency of how severe mental health issues may be. Mental health begins out simply with being ill and progresses to more serious symptoms.”

They also discussed ways to overcome mental health issues. Digitalisation has played a huge role in doing so. The pandemic raised awareness of the significance of online and virtual mental health care, which has saved our mental health system.

We can considerably reduce the persistent issues of insufficient access to mental health treatments if we can use the pandemic's lessons to encourage increasing, appropriate use of digital technologies and virtual care.

The ability to successfully fulfil mental health needs of more youth than ever before will be made possible by digital tools and virtual treatment. Journalists and seminar attendees posed questions wwww during a Q&A session that followed the presentation.