Every morning, lakhs of IT workers put on their work faces—logging into video calls, answering emails, or rushing through commutes. Outwardly, everything looks fine: smiles, small talk, productivity dashboards. But behind those screens and smiles, an invisible struggle brews. Anxiety, fatigue, sleeplessness, and a creeping sense of helplessness. These are the signs of a silent epidemic that rarely gets the attention it deserves.

This is India’s “hidden crisis”, a public-health challenge quietly eroding our productivity, creativity, and social fabric, and the World Mental Health Day (October 10) is an urgent reminder of this crisis.

According to the World Health Organization, neglecting mental health could cost India over $1 trillion in lost economic output over a decade. That figure isn’t just about hospitals or medication; it represents absenteeism, reduced innovation, and the quiet burnout that drains motivation from classrooms, startups, and boardrooms alike.

When a young software engineer in Pune jumps from his office terrace, or a bank executive ends his life due to unbearable stress, it’s not just a personal tragedy. It is also an institutional failure. These are symptoms of a deeper malaise: the neglect of mental wellbeing as a core economic and public health issue, not just a private one.

India’s suicide rate was 9.9 per lakh in 2017 and rose to 12.4 in 2022, according to the NCRB. Student suicides alone have jumped 65 percent in a decade. Behind those numbers are academic pressure, job anxiety, and social isolation.

A multi-city study in 2024 found that seven out of ten college students report moderate-to-severe anxiety, and six out of ten show symptoms of depression. Yet most never seek help, either because they can’t afford it or because of the stigma that still shadows mental illness. As noted by scholar Istikhar Ali and others, mental distress is often viewed as a moral weakness or spiritual failure, not........

© Greater Kashmir