A walkathon to bring awareness on mental health issues was conducted by the Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering here on Thursday.
The college authorities, citing National Mental Health Survey (NMHS) report said more than 150 million Indians need mental health care services, out of which only 30 million are seeking care.
Underlining the stigma attached to mental health which prevents people from seeking counselling, the organisers said in the country, there are only 43 State-run mental health institutions, and the ratio of psychiatrists to the Indian population is 1: 400,000.
The VVCE also cited World Health Organization (WHO) and said that India has the highest number of suicidal deaths with 1,64,000 during the last year.
At least from now on an open environment should be created to discuss mental health” said Sambhavi M.R, chief psychologist of VVCE.
The 5 km walkathon saw participation by students of VVCE Mysuru’s Yoga Guru Raghavendra Pai, and America’s yoga teacher Yogini Kaliji. The students and those participating in the event were asked to practice yoga every day to overcome mental illnesses like anxiety and depression.
‘’The rising addiction to mobiles in students and youth adversely affects mental health. We are proud to see students coming forward to organize these social impact programs to bring awareness, said Prof. B Sadashivegowda, principal, VVCE.
