Why Mental Health Matters: A Clinical Psychologist's Perspective on India's Silent Crisis
By Dr. Prerna Kohli | Clinical Psychologist, Gurugram | Updated June 2026
"Mental health" has become a phrase used so frequently that its meaning has, for many people, become vague— something between "feeling happy" and "not having a diagnosed condition." Neither captures what mental health actually is, or why it matters as much as it does.
Mental health is not a destination you arrive at and remain in permanently. It is not the absence of sadness, stress, or difficulty. And it is not relevant only to people who have been diagnosed with a mental health condition. Mental health is the ongoing, dynamic state of our psychological functioning— and like physical health, it requires attention, maintenance, and occasionally, professional support, regardless of whether anything is "wrong."
Mental health is important because it is not separate from the rest of life— it is the lens through which we experience everything else. Our mental health shapes how we interpret events, how we relate to the people we love, how resilient we are under pressure, and ultimately how much of our life we are actually present for. Poor mental health does not just feel bad in isolation— it touches every domain: relationships, work, physical health, parenting, decision-making. This is why mental health cannot be treated as a luxury concern, addressed only once everything else is in order. It is the foundation everything else rests on.Dr. Prerna Kohli, PhD— Clinical Psychologist, in practice since 1993
What Good Mental Health Actually Means
Good mental health is frequently equated with happiness— the assumption being that if you feel good most of the time, your mental health is fine, and if you feel bad, something is wrong. This is a significant misunderstanding, and one that causes real harm, because it implicitly tells people that experiencing sadness, anxiety, anger, or grief is itself a sign of mental health failure.
Good mental health is not the absence of difficult emotions. It is the capacity to experience the full range of human emotion— including the painful ones— without being overwhelmed by them, without those emotions taking over your functioning indefinitely, and with the ability to eventually return to a baseline of stability. Sadness after a loss, anxiety before something important, anger at injustice— these are not signs of poor mental health. They are signs of being a person with a functioning emotional system, responding appropriately to life.
What characterises good mental health is the presence of certain capacities: the ability to form and sustain meaningful relationships; the ability to recover from setbacks within a reasonable timeframe; a sense of meaning or purpose, even if it shifts over time; and the ability to function— to work, to care for responsibilities, to engage with life— even when things are difficult.
Mental Health Exists on a Spectrum— for Everyone
One of the most important reframes in mental health understanding is this: mental health is not a binary between "healthy" and "mentally ill." It exists on a continuous spectrum, and every person— regardless of whether they have ever been diagnosed with anything— exists somewhere on that spectrum at any given time, and moves along it throughout their life in response to circumstances, biology, and how well they are caring for themselves. Just as everyone has physical health that can be better or worse managed, everyone has mental health that benefits from attention— not only those in crisis.
The Three Dimensions of Mental Health
Mental health is best understood not as a single thing, but as the product of three interacting dimensions— biological, psychological, and social. Genuine mental health maintenance addresses all three, and most approaches that focus on only one produce limited results.
Sleep, nutrition, physical activity, and physical health conditions all directly affect brain function and mental state. Chronic sleep deprivation, nutritional deficiencies (such as Vitamin B12, common in India), and untreated physical illness are frequently overlooked contributors to mental health difficulties.
Thought patterns, coping strategies, past experiences, and the relationship we have with our own emotions all shape mental health. This dimension is where therapy primarily works— helping people understand and shift patterns that are causing distress.
Relationships, community, social support, and the broader environment— including financial security, work conditions, and family dynamics— significantly shape mental health. Isolation is one of the strongest predictors of poor mental health outcomes, regardless of other factors.
A person experiencing persistent low mood might be dealing with a biological factor (a thyroid condition, a B12 deficiency, chronic sleep deprivation), a psychological factor (an unprocessed grief, a pattern of self-critical thinking), a social factor (isolation, an unhealthy relationship, financial stress)— or, most commonly, some combination of all three. Effective support addresses the combination, not just one dimension in isolation.
India's Mental Health Gap: Why This Conversation Is More Urgent Than It Appears
The Numbers India Doesn't Talk About Enough
India's relationship with mental health is defined by a profound gap between need and access. National survey data suggests that approximately one in seven Indians experiences a mental health condition in their lifetime— yet estimates of the treatment gap range from 70% to over 90%, meaning the overwhelming majority of people who would benefit from mental health support never receive it.
This gap is not primarily a problem of awareness in the abstract sense— most people have heard the phrase "mental health" by now. It is a problem of access, of stigma, and of the persistent belief that psychological distress is something to be managed privately, through willpower, family support, or simply enduring it— rather than something that, like a physical health condition, often responds well to professional treatment.
India has approximately 0.75 psychiatrists per 100,000 people— against a World Health Organization recommended minimum of 3. Mental health professionals, including psychologists, are heavily concentrated in urban centres, leaving the majority of India's population— particularly in rural areas— with essentially no access to professional mental health support even if they sought it.
The consequence of this gap is not abstract. It is the difference between a treatable anxiety disorder and years of unaddressed suffering. Between a manageable depressive episode and a crisis. Between a family that understands what is happening to a loved one, and one left bewildered by behaviour they have no framework to interpret.
"He was in his late fifties— a retired government officer, by his own description 'not someone who believes in all this.' His daughter had brought him to me after months of withdrawal, irritability, and what the family had described as 'just becoming difficult in his old age.' He sat through the first session largely in silence, clearly present only because his daughter had insisted."
"Over subsequent sessions, what emerged was a man experiencing significant depression— triggered by retirement, the loss of the social structure and purpose his career had provided, and a grief he had never processed for his own father, who had died decades earlier under similar circumstances of withdrawal that no one in the family had ever named or addressed. He had spent sixty years in a family and a culture where this conversation simply did not happen."
"What struck me most was something he said in our fourth session: 'I didn't know this was something that could be treated. I thought this was just what happens to people— that you become like this, and that's that.' He had lived for months— possibly longer— believing his suffering was simply an inevitable feature of growing old, because no one around him had ever suggested otherwise. Within weeks of appropriate treatment, he was, in his own words, 'becoming himself again.' The treatment was not exotic. The barrier had been the absence of the idea that treatment was even possible."
The most common barrier to mental health care in India is not cost, and it is often not even stigma in the way people imagine it— as active shame. More often, it is simply the absence of the idea that what someone is experiencing is treatable. People live for years, sometimes decades, with conditions that would respond well to support, because no one in their world has ever framed psychological suffering as something other than a fixed feature of life or character. Changing that— one conversation, one family, one person at a time— is, in many ways, the most important work I do.Dr. Prerna Kohli, PhD— Clinical Psychologist, in practice since 1993
Daily Habits That Support Mental Health— Across All Three Dimensions
Because mental health is shaped by biological, psychological, and social factors together, the daily habits that support it should address all three— not just one in isolation.
7-8 hours consistently. Sleep is foundational to mood regulation, cognitive function, and stress resilience— and is one of the first things to deteriorate, and one of the most powerful to restore, in mental health.
Regular physical activity has effects on mood comparable to medication for mild to moderate depression in some studies. It does not need to be intense— consistency matters more than intensity.
A brief daily practice of identifying and acknowledging your emotional state— even just to yourself— builds the emotional vocabulary and self-awareness that prevents small difficulties from accumulating unnoticed.
Time with people, in person, with genuine engagement— not screen-mediated. Social connection is one of the strongest protective factors for mental health, and one of the most easily neglected in busy lives.
Even brief periods of genuinely unstructured time— without phones, without input— give the mind space to process and rest in ways that constant stimulation prevents.
Engagement with something that feels meaningful— work, a hobby, caregiving, learning— contributes significantly to mental health, independent of whether it is "productive" in a narrow sense.
When Daily Habits Are Not Enough: The Role of Professional Support
Daily habits matter— but they are maintenance, not treatment. For someone experiencing a clinical level of distress, no amount of exercise, sleep hygiene, or social connection will substitute for professional support, any more than diet and exercise alone would treat a serious physical illness.
The signals that professional support— not just self-care— is needed include: persistent low mood, anxiety, or irritability lasting more than two weeks; significant changes in sleep, appetite, or energy; withdrawal from relationships or activities previously enjoyed; difficulty functioning in work or daily responsibilities; and any thoughts of self-harm, which should always be taken seriously and addressed immediately.
None of these require a crisis to justify seeking help. The framing that therapy is "for serious cases only" is itself part of the stigma that keeps India's treatment gap so wide. Just as one would see a doctor for a persistent physical symptom long before it becomes severe, the same logic applies— and should be applied— to psychological distress.
If I could change one thing about how India thinks about mental health, it would be this: the idea that it is something you address only when things have become unbearable. Physical health is not approached this way— we do not wait for a heart attack to think about diet and exercise. Mental health deserves the same proactive, ongoing attention. The conversation we should be having is not "is something wrong with me?" but "how am I doing, and is there anything I need?" That shift— from crisis response to ongoing care— is, I believe, the single most important change India's relationship with mental health needs.Dr. Prerna Kohli, PhD— Clinical Psychologist, in practice since 1993
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is mental health important?
As Dr. Prerna Kohli explains: "Mental health is important because it is not separate from the rest of life— it is the lens through which we experience everything else. Our mental health shapes how we interpret events, how we relate to the people we love, how resilient we are under pressure, and ultimately how much of our life we are actually present for. Poor mental health does not just feel bad in isolation— it touches every domain: relationships, work, physical health, parenting, decision-making. This is why mental health cannot be treated as a luxury concern, addressed only once everything else is in order. It is the foundation everything else rests on."
What does good mental health actually mean?
Good mental health is not the absence of difficult emotions or the permanent presence of happiness— it is the capacity to experience the full range of human emotion, including sadness, anger, and anxiety, without being overwhelmed or defined by them. It includes the ability to form and maintain meaningful relationships, to recover from setbacks, to find meaning and purpose, and to function effectively in daily life. Mental health exists on a spectrum, and everyone— including people without any diagnosable condition— has mental health that requires ongoing attention, much like physical fitness.
How big is the mental health treatment gap in India?
India's mental health treatment gap is among the largest in the world. Estimates suggest 70-92% of people in India who need mental health care do not receive it, despite roughly 1 in 7 Indians experiencing a mental health condition in their lifetime. This gap is driven by severe shortages of mental health professionals relative to population size, deep-rooted stigma that prevents help-seeking, limited mental health literacy, and the geographic concentration of services in urban centres, leaving rural India significantly underserved.
What simple daily habits support good mental health?
Dr. Prerna Kohli recommends habits that address mental health's biological, psychological, and social dimensions together: regular physical activity and adequate sleep (the biological foundation); a daily practice of naming and processing emotions rather than suppressing them (the psychological dimension); and consistent, meaningful connection with other people, not mediated primarily through screens (the social dimension). None of these require significant time or money— but they require consistency, much like any habit that supports long-term wellbeing.
When should someone seek professional help for their mental health?
Professional support is valuable far earlier than most people in India seek it. Indicators include persistent low mood, anxiety, or irritability lasting more than two weeks; significant changes in sleep, appetite, or energy; withdrawal from relationships or activities previously enjoyed; difficulty functioning at work or in daily responsibilities; and any thoughts of self-harm. Seeking support does not require a crisis or a formal diagnosis— much as one would see a doctor for a persistent physical symptom rather than waiting for it to become severe, the same logic applies to psychological distress.
Mental Health Is Not a Luxury— It Is the Foundation
The importance of mental health is not an abstract or aspirational idea. It is the daily, practical reality that how we think and feel shapes everything else we do— our relationships, our work, our health, our capacity to be present for the people and the life we have.
Taking mental health seriously does not mean waiting for crisis. It means treating it the way we would treat any other foundational aspect of wellbeing— with ongoing attention, with honesty about when something is not right, and with the understanding that seeking support is not a last resort, but a normal and valuable part of taking care of yourself.
Ready to Prioritise Your Mental Health?
Whether you are managing everyday stress or navigating something more significant, professional support can help— and you do not need to wait for a crisis to seek it. I offer confidential consultations from my practice in Gurugram, with online sessions available across India and internationally.
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About the author — Dr. Prerna Kohli
Dr. Prerna Kohli is a clinical psychologist with over 30 years of practice, based in Gurugram. She holds a PhD from Aligarh Muslim University, where she was a four-time gold medalist, and received the “100 Women Achievers of India” award from the President of India in 2016. A TEDx speaker and published author, she works with individuals, couples, and families through her private practice — in-clinic in Gurugram and online worldwide — with a particular speciality in NRI mental health.