A major mental health alarm has been raised by the Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS), warning that over 80 per cent of people with psychiatric disorders in India do not receive timely or adequate care. This gap in mental healthcare is one of the widest in the world and reflects deep-rooted social and systemic issues.
Psychiatric experts highlighted these concerns at the curtain-raiser event for the 77th Annual National Conference of the Indian Psychiatric Society (ANCIPS 2026) in Delhi, where they pointed to data from the National Mental Health Survey. The survey shows that more than 85 per cent of individuals with common mental illnesses either never seek treatment or fail to receive proper care even when they do reach out.
Mental health professionals stress that this treatment gap has serious consequences. Untreated conditions often worsen over time, becoming chronic and leading to greater disability, family distress, loss of productivity and a significantly higher risk of self-harm and suicide. The lack of early intervention can turn manageable conditions into long-term health and social problems.
Experts attribute the huge gap to several interlinked causes. Stigma and discrimination remain powerful barriers. Many people fear judgment, social exclusion or being labelled as “weak” by family, friends or employers, so they delay seeking help or avoid it entirely. Lack of awareness about mental health symptoms is another major factor. Early signs of conditions like depression or anxiety are often dismissed as stress or personality issues rather than recognised as treatable medical conditions.
A critical shortage of mental health professionals further compounds the problem, especially in rural and semi-urban areas where access to psychiatrists, psychologists, trained counsellors and psychiatric nurses is minimal. This makes it difficult for even those who want help to find qualified support nearby.
The IPS states that these challenges are not just medical — they are also social, economic, and developmental. Without addressing mental health with the same urgency as physical health, the wider consequences for families, workplaces and communities will only deepen.
Experts are urging a multi-pronged response: integrating mental health into primary care, training frontline health workers, expanding community-based services, improving referral systems, and running sustained public awareness campaigns to reduce stigma. These measures aim to ensure that mental health is taken seriously and that people get help when they need it, not years later with worsened outcomes.
