Mental Health: Breaking The Silence

In high school, I had a friend who talked to me a lot about how she felt- how close she felt to the edge. The edge in question was the edge of life itself, and she had seemed more and more eager to cross it as time passed. As someone who felt too helpless and ill-prepared to help her in anyway, I did the next best things I could think of- I asked her to talk to me, asked her to request her mother for proper psychological counselling, and even got my own mother to call hers, just so that my friend would get serious help. We were both students of psychology after all. We knew to not take this lightly.

She never did go to the doctor though. Her father didn’t believe anything was worth any concern, and didn’t get her help. Now I have moved to a different state and we talk too little, despite my attempts to check up on her.

This had made me wonder why we treated mental health in such a lackadaisical manner, as if any problems to mental health were akin to colds that would pass away if ignore long enough. That was not how our brain worked, nor what it needed. When your mind stands against you, your body isn’t that far behind to follow.

India is the suicide capital of the world for a reason- every 3 minutes we lose a life to suicide. It could have all been prevented- if we had looked, and if we had even known to look sooner. Because we were never even taught what signs to look out for, in children, in teens, in adults, their suffering masked under a smile they don’t mean.

Mental health education does more than save lives—it nurtures a compassionate and emotionally resilient generation. By addressing mental health early in childhood, India can set a global example of how investing in emotional well-being can build a safer, stronger, and happier nation. This effort can start now, with you.

We aim to gather 1 million signatures before filing our Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court. Just one sign can have an impact on a life that’s slowly losing its grip on happiness. Sign and share this petition and save these lives.

Please Sign the petition here: https://chng.it/ndY8LJVzjZ