Depression in India
Ethical Aspect
Ethics has to do with the rightness & wrongness or justice of actions. Two ethical imperatives involve “first, do no harm” and “second, do good".
​
Ethical issues related to culture and depression in India are:
1)Mental Health Should Be Taken as Seriously as Other Illnesses
​
​
2) It affects the SDGs
Mental health should be taken as seriously as other illnesses
​
In India, many doctors do not believe that mental illnesses exist or that they should be treated. People who struggle with these disorders in India do not receive the help they need, and they end up losing hope. This is one of the reasons that the suicide rates in India are so incredibly high. In America, if you were to visit your physician’s office with complaints of feeling depressed or suicidal, they would offer you support strategies and coping mechanisms, prescribe an antidepressant, or give you more information about treatment options. In India if you went to a health provider and complained of these symptoms, you might be told that you are weak, you are possessed by evil spirits, or even that it’s all in your head and you need to be stronger. People suffering from clinical depression deserve to know about the treatment options that are available, and that depression is a mental illness caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, not something that is made up or caused by evil. If more individuals in India were properly treated for their depression, the staggering rates of suicide would likely drop tremendously. In 2016, 230,000 people commited suicide in India; this is 630 people every day. This is considered a public health crisis.
Locked Up and Forgotten: India’s Mental Health Crisis
India is currently suffering a mental health crisis. With only 43 government-run mental hospitals serving a population of 1.2 billion, resources are spread thin. What's more, mental illness is highly stigmatized in India, especially among women, who are typically committed to mental health facilities with no legal rights, receiving involuntary treatment, and sometimes without a proper diagnosis.
It affects the SDGs
No Poverty- 60% of India’s nearly 1.3 billion people live in extreme poverty, living on less than $3 per day. With poverty, comes depression. Many in poverty lack access to health basics needed to treat or prevent illnesses. Individuals living in poverty are twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression compared to those not living in poverty. Those living in poverty are much less likely to have health insurance, which could prevent them from visiting a doctor to possibly recieve treatment.
Good health and wellbeing- Depression can cause persistent sad, anxious, or "empty" mood, loss of interest or pleasure in activities, restlessness, irritability, or excessive crying, feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness, hopelessness, sleeping too much or too little, loss of appetite, weight loss, or overeating and weight gain. These all contribute negatively to good health and wellbeing.
Clean water and sanitation- India struggles with the environmental conditions of their country. A big factor is pollution. 11 out of the 12 most polluted cities in the world are located in India. Pollution in India spans from water pollution to air pollution. Not having access to clean water and sanitation decreases the quality of life and can lead to depression.
Decent work and economic growth- When school age children suffer from depression, they may be less likely to finish school or go to university. This negatively affects the economic prosperity of the country.
Peace, justice, and strong institutions- If India had a government that provided quality healthcare to its residents, more people suffering from depression may receive help. Much of healthcare is government run.