‘Any mental state that is not inclusive is an unhealthy mental state‘
says Abdul Mabood founder of Snehi- a Delhi based not for profit organisation for psycho-social support and mental health care in an exclusive zoom interview.
Since its inception and first crisis intervention in 1994 Snehi has provided counselling to over 1,40,000 individuals, prevented over a thousand suicides, set up awareness programs such as Chetna, Prayatna and Aastha, put up foster care for orphans under the M.H.C.D.C program (Mental Health Care for Destitute Children) with Fr. Angel Bal Bhawan foster home and consistently advocated for mental health rights of individuals, especially women and minorities in the country.
Mabood first came to Delhi from a small rural town in Bihar as a young student at JNU in 1986 where his journey of self-discovery and sociological development began, amidst the politically charged competitive academic environment of the campus. He recalls his early days at the campus and the cultural shock of sharing the classroom with elite women scholars against the feudalistic background of the capital’s society- inspiring him to set up extensive student welfare helplines in the coming years.
Mabood points that the culturally oriented understanding of gendered relationships in the society (much unchanged in the four decades to follow) is largely responsible for mental distress inevitably predisposing everyone to emotional and psychological turmoil. In an unfortunate turn of events one of his close friends and brilliant fellow scholar died of suicide profoundly affecting him. The accident eventually steered him in the direction of working for community mental health. As a result, he left his job as a professor and together with like-minded received training in clinical psychology to assist people during mental health emergencies through their free suicide prevention helpline.
Mabood believes that no psychopathological distress occurs in isolation and is a consequence of the of the environment of the individual. He believes that every suicide in our society speaks volumes about the pathology of the society and not just that of the individual. Thus, it is a collective responsibility to ensure mental wellbeing of the people in the community.
He further states that discrimination even in its minutest form instils mental health issues be it racial, sexual, caste based or religion based as it tarnishes the individual or collective dignity. In an attempt to increase awareness about mental health Mabood as a member of the planning committee for the Health and Welfare of Women and Children in 11th Five-Year Plan introduced child-adolescent mental health care for the first time in the Indian Plan policy as well as granting psycho-social disability the same status as any physical disability to promote inclusivity. Mabood also mentions successfully lobbying to increase the budget for mental health in the Ministry of Health from 192 crores to 1400 crores in 2014.
Alongside a pre-exam helpline (post exam helpline to assist students in navigating through the competitive stress of the demanding academic world, Snehi also counsels parents and teachers to transform the immediate environment of the students for better recovery. In cases requiring emancipation they also provide with legal, financial and medical aid as well as provide foster homes for relocation of these children. “In a city of 20 million it is unfortunate that there is no place for a battered child, mother or daughter, simply because of the lack of adequate foster care.” says Mabood.
One of the biggest challenges that the organisation had and continues to face is the taboo associated with mental health in the society compromising the possibility of reaching out for help and even acceptance given that mental health is a self-diagnosed disease. As Mabood puts it the feudal nature of the society makes it difficult to access professional help which is further exacerbated in the case of minorities, women and individuals belonging to lower castes and classes as reflected by the poor mental health demographic of the country.
Even the treatment of those with the privilege of access is often targeted to fix the symptoms so to speak (drug abuse, alcoholism, insomnia) of psycho social distress through medications rather than the treating the underlying cause. Although Mabood supports clinical aid he believes that medication alone cannot treat the ailment since it is commonly used to cover up the illness and help keep up appearances. “Is depression about the medicine?” he asks and goes on to say that culture is complicit in the increasing mental stress and the deaths of suicide victims. With an aim to sensitise and encourage compassionate understanding of the victim’s state of mind Snehi along with other mental health organisations in the country pushed for decriminalisation of an attempt to suicide which was earlier seen as a criminal offence as well as amendments to the Mental Health Act 1987 to introduce mental health rights.
Commenting on the current frenzy and fear due to the coronavirus pandemic Mabood predicts that India is on the brink of facing a hunger as well as a mental health pandemic in the near future. Given the massive emotional and economic loss this virus has brought to our doors the only recourse is to promote egalitarian distribution of resources alongside active socio-cultural restructuring of the society. Mabood believes that despite the impeccable performance of his organisation in recovery of the emotionally vulnerable, its limitations are vast. He believes that strategized investment of public money on the issue of mental health alone holds the possibility of unprecedented positive change. And adds that informed policy making, sustained advocacy and campaigns for mental health awareness are the cornerstones of this initiative, urging us as concerned citizens to rise for collective action.
For More Info:
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/snehi.india
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SnehiDelhi
Interviewed and written by Meghna Chaudhary
