The Conception of SOE

In June 2020, the suicide of Sushant Singh Rajput created a dire need to start conversations around mental health more than ever before. Someone who had AIR 7 in the Engineering Entrance Exam (a crude measure of intelligence in our society), someone who was learning a new skill during the lockdown just like you and I and someone with 10.6 million followers on Instagram. What must have gone so wrong, that he decided to give up on his life?

It’s a shame that even in 2020, Mental Health issues are dismissed as "first-world" problems. We all know the economic repercussions of this pandemic. But, according to the World Economic Forum, India will also suffer a Mental Health crisis soon. This is dangerous because of multiple reasons such as stigma, lack of awareness, and regressive policies for Mental Health. The healthcare industry has a 0.05% (yes, you read it correctly) budget allocated to Mental Health. According to WHO, India is one of the most depressed countries in the world. Although there is a sudden surge of free-of-cost Mental Health services, their reliability remains unknown. Hence, we not only need free or affordable services but also sustainable, evidence-based services. 

The causes of suicide, among many others, are difficulty handling intense emotions, a key emotional skill. The problem with our society is that nobody explicitly teaches us these skills the way we are taught how to read and do Math. There is a huge skill deficit in managing our emotions, dealing with setbacks and failures and conflict management. The importance of these skills in workplaces and personal lives can’t be overemphasised.

15th June was the day when schools reopened in Mumbai for as long as I can recall. This 15th June, let's enrol ourselves into a new school - a school of Emotional Literacy! A school that explicitly talks about how to recognise, distinguish and manage emotions before they go out of hand leading to a negative spiral of anxiety, depression and/or violence.

Let’s learn to be kinder to ourselves and others a little bit more and create a world full of non-judgment, empathy and growth. My name is Shraddha. I am a counselling psychologist and this is my why! 

Stay tuned for more :)