If you grew up in an Indian household, you already know these lines by heart.
- “Go get some fresh air, you’re just overthinking.”
- “Look at everything you have. Why are you acting so sad?”
- And the ultimate, conversation-stopping heavyweight: “Log kya kahenge?” (What will people say?)
We are a country of beautifully loud, interconnected communities. We share our festivals, our recipes, and our family dramas out in the open. But the second someone struggles with a heavy heart or an anxious mind, a sudden, heavy silence drops over the room.
Think about it. If you get a fracture, you get a cast, a get-well-soon card, and a ton of sympathy. But if your mind is fracturing under stress, you’re often told to pull yourself together or just pray it away. Why do we treat the invisible bruises on our minds like dirty little secrets?
The Quiet Reality We’re All Ignoring
For a long time, we swept mental health under the rug by calling it a “Western concept” or something that only affects people with “too much time on their hands.” But let’s be honest with ourselves.
The numbers are staggering—millions of Indians are struggling in silence. But don’t look at them as statistics. Look around your own circle. It’s the college kid down the street crumbling under the pressure of competitive exams. It’s your coworker burning the candle at both ends just to keep up. It’s the new mother silently crying in the bathroom, wondering why she feels so empty when she’s “supposed” to be happy.
These aren’t stranger problems. These are our friends, our siblings, our parents, and sometimes, ourselves.
Why Are We So Scared to Talk About It?
To change the narrative, we have to look closely at the things we’ve been taught to fear.
- We confuse struggling with failing:In our culture, mental toughness is worn like a badge of honor. If you admit you’re anxious or depressed, people assume you just lack willpower or spiritual grounding. We forget that the brain is a biological organ, just like the heart or liver. It can get sick, and willpower alone can’t fix a chemical imbalance.
- The “Marriage & Reputation” Trap: Let’s face it, a lot of the silence is driven by social panic. Parents worry that if word gets out that a child is seeing a therapist, it will ruin the family’s reputation or affect marriage prospects. We sacrifice our children’s present peace of mind to protect a future social image.
- The Casual Use of “Paagal”: We use the word paagal(crazy) so loosely. Because we’ve been conditioned to think that therapy is only for people who have completely lost control, ordinary people experiencing everyday burnout or grief avoid getting help. They don’t want the label.
Small, Everyday Ways to Break the Cycle
We don’t need massive campaigns to start making a difference. Change happens over the dinner table and in WhatsApp group chats. Here is how we start:
1. Watch your vocabulary
The next time a friend or a family member opens up about feeling overwhelmed, don’t rush to fix it or dismiss it with a “Think positive!” Just sit with them. Say something simple like:
“I’m so sorry you’re carrying this. It sounds really heavy, but I’m right here with you. How can I help?”
2. Stop treating therapy like a last resort
Going to therapy isn’t a sign that you’ve broken down; it’s a sign that you care enough about yourself to heal. If we can normalize going to a gym for our bodies, we can normalize talking to a professional for our minds.
3. Share your own cracks
Perfection is exhausting, and frankly, it’s a lie. When we are honest about our own bad days, our stress, or our therapy sessions, we accidentally give the people around us permission to breathe a sigh of relief and say, “Me too. I thought I was the only one.”
It’s Time to Ask a Better Question
We can’t build a happy, thriving society if we are leaving our minds behind. It’s time to retire the old, fear-driven question of “Log kya kahenge?”
Let’s replace it with something much kinder, much more human: “Aap kaisa mehsoos kar rahe ho?” (How are you really doing?)
Anviksha Ranjan
2 July,2026
Intern