Growing up in Imphal, Sadam Hanjabam, witnessed insurgency, random police arrests and violent deaths from close quarters. This made the possibility of disclosing his queer identity almost impossible.
When dreams of a safer and better life landed him in Mumbai, casual racism, isolation, and pressures of ‘fitting in’, further drove him into an abyss of substance abuse, despair, and loneliness. It was only when he met a queer affirmative counsellor and embraced his story publicly, did Sadam finally begin his journey to recovery, reconciling his life with dignity. In 2017, he successfully set up ‘Ya-all’, a LGBTQ+ Allies Youth advocacy group, that now provides mental health care services to youngsters like him.
Sadam and many such other young people’s stories are being showcased at ‘Mann Mela’, India’s first mental health museum. Launched by Sangath, a Goa-based mental health research organisation, in collaboration with It’s ok to Talk, a public engagement platform, the museum aims to build awareness around mental health as an integral part of our daily lives and how managing difficulties is crucial to enable young people to thrive.
Over the next two years, Mann Mela will be travelling to Goa, New Delhi, Bhopal, Imphal and Mumbai, featuring young people’s stories through interactive comics, voice-overs and artefacts, reflecting on a range of mental health needs within gender, sexuality, social, cultural and geographic context. The digital edition of the museum, on the other hand, showcases individual recovery stories on how to talk about common mental illnesses, seek help, information on breaking the stigma and building resilience.
Each story is presented using an art and technology-assisted exhibit, enabling one to interact with a storyteller’s world as they travel through their journey of finding meaning and recovery.
Young Indians at risk
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that between 1990 to 2017, one in seven Indians lived with poor mental health conditions ranging from depression, anxiety to severe conditions such as schizophrenia. The National Mental Health Survey 2015-16, conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, also revealed that 9.8 million teenagers in the age group 13-17 years have seen a consistent rise in mental health concerns and self-harm, driven by academic pressures, sexual abuse, socially conservative attitudes that prohibit romantic relationships, marriage and thus require active intervention.
Covid-19 and the resultant fall out in the form of social isolation, unemployment, economic hardships and displacement is further expected to fuel India’s mental health crisis. In fact, a study by the Indian Psychiatry Society noted that within a week of the start of Covid-19 lockdown, the number of reported cases of mental illness in India had risen by 20%.
Vikram Patel, leading international mental health expert at Harvard Medical School, and the advisor on the Mann Mela project said, “Who could have imagined that the world would be looking at a spiralling health crisis unlike any witnessed in our lifetime? In addition to the actual threat of the infection, mental health is emerging as a key concern, especially for young people. Our project lays emphasis on young people’s stories about the centrality of mental health for well-being, the vulnerabilities which some experience and are being greatly exacerbated by the times we are now living in, and the routes to resilience and recovery. We want these stories to be told and heard throughout India, a country with the largest number of young people in the world.”
No single narrative
Through sharing people’s real experiences, we can tackle common misconceptions about mental disorders and illness, improve our communities by making it more acceptable for those living with them to seek help, learn to cope and get on the road to recovery. Mrinalini Ravi, organiser of India’s first ‘Mad Pride’ parade held in Chennai last October and co-lead, Centre for Social Action and Research at The Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental health explains that the lack of awareness and stigma endangers overall well-being of people with mental health challenges.
“There is no mental health narrative. We need to have conversations about how different people, across the spectrum of mental health and disorders, who are diverse and unique in their lived experiences, can coexist, within the larger community, and are a part of inclusive public healthcare.”
It’s ok to talk
Mental health advocates, researchers and activists are increasingly encouraging people with mental health experiences to reclaim spaces and reframe conversations to advocate for rights and challenging rampant discrimination. Sadam smiles, “I want you to know that sometimes, it’s ok to be vulnerable, and it’s a huge step to accept our vulnerabilities. They are a part of who we are. Once we do this, we can find ways to turn them into our biggest strengths.”
(If you or your loved one need support, call NIMHANS at 080-4611 0007)