Anisha Chaurasia and Jyoti
School of Humanities and Liberal Arts, NIMS University, Rajasthan
Pages:68-78
Mental health is one of the important elements that contribute to human well-being and
falls under Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing). Mental health
as a whole continues to be extremely neglected, especially in Indian middle-class
society due to social stigma, cultural taboos and lack of awareness. It is impossible to
discuss all dimensions of mental health, but this paper seeks to address some aspects
in the Indian socio-economic context that are pervasive and tends to be expropriated in
research or shall we say middle class binaries economists simplify into. So, her neglect
is having more and more folks that are depressed, anxious or maybe even committing
suicide. The key arguments addressed in this paper are that sustainable development
on the Indian sub-continent cannot be established without integration of mental wellbeing
into public narratives, policy constructs and education systems. The helpful
alternative to consider here may be that the study offers culturally sensitive approaches
for mental health literacy and community-based help regarding being mentally healthy.
At the same time, it highlights how mental health improves quality of life and helps in
increasing productivity which could lead to social cohesion as well as equity gender.
The paper also suggests the necessity of interdisciplinary collaboration between
psychologists, sociologists as well as public health and policy experts aiming at a
society that is inclusive and emotionally strong