Globally, one in six young people live with a mental health disorder, and suicide remains the second leading cause of death among those aged 15 to 29, according to the World Health Organization. Closer to home, a recent Mpower survey of young people aged 18–25 across ten Indian cities found that out of nearly half of the people (49.5%) cope with emotional distress entirely alone, and only 9.2% have ever sought professional help. When asked how they were feeling, over 40%, gave the same answer: “I’m fine.”
India has become far more comfortable talking about mental health than it was a decade ago. Anxiety and depression are discussed more openly. Today, educational institutions and workplaces have begun to treat well-being as part of the environments they are responsible for. That is real progress.
The workplace is an important part of this conversation. WHO estimates that 15% of working-age adults were living with a mental disorder in 2019, while depression and anxiety account for an estimated 12 billion lost working days globally each year. This makes workplace mental health more than an employee benefit or a well-being initiative; it is part of building environments that can protect mental health, recognise distress early and connect people to appropriate support.
But progress in vocabulary is not the same as progress in capacity. We have learned to name distress faster than we have built the systems to respond to it. A young person may know the word anxiety without knowing whether what they feel warrants support. A parent may sense a change in their child and still hesitate to ask help. An employee may understand emotional distress perfectly and still may not prioritise it.
The question, then, is no longer whether people can recognise distress. It is whether the people around us–our family, friends, teachers, mentors and peers–notice when something is wrong, ask how we are really doing, and know how to help us in that situation.
Rather than treating mental-health support as something that sits outside the everyday life of an institution or an individual, we need to build environments where mental-health literacy, early recognition, supportive conversations and clear pathways to seeking help are easily accessible in our daily life. We also need to equip people with the skills to navigate difficult moments before they become overwhelming. Helping young people build emotional resilience, recognise when they are struggling, develop healthier ways of coping and, importantly, know when coping alone is no longer enough and it is time to seek professional support. This is not about expecting people to manage trauma on their own; it is about ensuring that they have the knowledge, skills and support to take the next step when they need it.
This is possible when we start institutionalising mental health in our existing systems, yet it does not mean turning every teacher, manager or family member into a counsellor. It means building a continuum of environments where concern is noticed early and where timely help will be available.
This can help people seek help before they reach a crisis, rather than waiting for someone to notice that they are struggling.
In reality, the measure of a mentally healthier India will not simply be how openly we talk about mental health challenges. It will be whether care is built into the places where people live, learn and work. So that when someone finally finds the courage to say, “I’m not okay,” there is someone to listen and an integrated system of care ready to respond. So, the time has come for India to move from simply talking about awareness to building care systems around people, and addressing mental illness like any other health problem.
(The views expressed are personal)
This article is authored by Neerja Birla, founder and chairperson, Mpower, Aditya Birla Education Trust.
