Exploring Methods to Alleviate Mental Health Stigma and Suicidal Ideation Among Adolescents in Chennai: Strategies for Mitigation

Abstract

India is home to the world's most extensive adolescent population, estimated roughly around 253 million, with approximately one in every five individuals in the age group of 10 to 19 years. As of 2023, India is struggling with a pressing and critical need for comprehensive mental health support. Our country, representing one-sixth of the global population, is confronted with a severe mental health crisis, with projections or predictions indicating that India may lead the world in depression and anxiety cases by the year 2030.

Unfortunately, mental illness still remains highly stigmatized in our country, leading many individuals and adolescents with mental health challenges to avoid seeking help out of fear of judgment and discrimination. Consequently, raising awareness about mental health and promoting treatment-seeking behaviors becomes a daunting task. The stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness are often experienced as social defeat, giving rise to feelings of shame, social anxiety, hopelessness, loneliness, helplessness and, ultimately leads to active suicidal thoughts and suicidal attempts.

Since 2008, the researcher has been employed full-time at the Jeevan Suicide Prevention Center in Chennai, a project operated by the non-profit organization, Youth with A Mission. During this period, the researcher has interacted and counselled with numerous individuals and adolescents who have experienced suicidal thoughts or made suicide attempts. Additionally, the researcher has organized numerous awareness campaigns aimed at high school and college students. These campaigns have played a vital role in recognizing mental health issues among adolescents, specifically those related to adolescent suicide, and facilitating discussions on intervention strategies to mitigate the incidence of adolescent suicide. This study aims to explore how these factors, particularly among adolescents in Chennai, contribute to suicidality and how interventions can target them through research studies.