Mental health service provider Mpower, an initiative by Aditya Birla Education Trust, recently launched the mental health score with a focus on residents of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.
Mpower said that the score, which took into account online responses by individuals to screen their mental health spectrum, found that every four in five individuals or about 80 per cent of residents in the ‘Deccan city’ have experienced some form of mental health issue. The score also noted that as high as 85 per cent of women and 70 per cent of men in Pune have undergone mental health distress with depression being the commonest cause in women and anxiety and panic disorder largely seen among men. The Mpower Pune mental health score evaluated findings among the age group 18 to 24 years (youth and adolescents) 25 to 40 years (adults and working population) and 60 years and above (geriatric population).
In a statement issued Wednesday, Dr Neerja Birla, founder and chairperson, Mpower, said: “At Mpower, we aim to create awareness about mental health concerns in India and provide the right platform to seek help and services for people in need. Through the launch of the city-specific mental health score we want everyone to realize that mental health is not a taboo anymore, it establishes a well-known fact that mental health distress can happen to anybody at any age group and surrounding. The ongoing pandemic and the impact of isolation, instability, and anxiety, has aggravated mental health issues amongst many of us. The best way to deal with it is to acknowledge it and seek the right professional help as living with mental health issues not only erodes one’s life of happiness, it also has a negative impact on the economy of the country as it indirectly hampers productivity and growth.”
The score also highlighted other key insights such as 88 per cent of youth respondents, between the age group of 18 to 24 years, suffer from mental health concerns in Pune. Some of the major mental health stressors seen among youth in Pune are mood disturbances and anxiety. Many also suffer from panic disorder, relationship issues like instability, infidelity, abuse, ghosting, and open relationships, among others, said the experts.