Being a teenager is a tough gig. You have the pressure of exams which may set the course for your future career. You’re figuring out not only what you want to do in life; but who you want to be. You’re falling in love for the first time, and dealing with friendships with other teenagers with their own set of complex issues. Throw puberty and the influence of the media into the mix, and it’s a wonder any of us make it out of adolescence alive.

It’s no surprise, then, that mental health problems are so prevalent in young people across the world, with at least one out of every four to five young people in the general population suffering from at least one mental disorder in any given year. The prevalence and levels to which different mental health issues appear varies from country to country. Eating disorders, for example, are more common in developed countries, due to the influence of the media and the fashion industry, while suicide is a leading cause of death in young people in developing countries, particularly in rural areas. But it seems – and I may be biased here – that young people in India get the worst of both worlds.

India is a developing country, but it’s developing fast – and it’s a double-edged sword for mental health in young adults. Research suggests that rapid social change is a key influence in suicide (which is a leading cause of death in Indian young people), but also the increasing influence of Western culture has contributed to rising levels of commonly Western mental health issues, such as eating disorders.

India is a developing country, but it’s developing fast – and it’s a double-edged sword for mental health in young adults.

And Indian attitudes towards mental health problems do not help the situation. According to the TLLLF National Survey Report  in 2018 – which surveyed 3,556 participants across eight cities of India, including Kolkata – 47% of those surveyed judged people more highly if they had a mental illness. While awareness of mental health was seen to be on the rise, attitudes towards people with mental illnesses were still highly derogatory – with 47% referring them as retards, 40% as crazy/mad/stupid and 38% as irresponsible/careless. 60% said a main cause of mental illness was a lack of self-discipline/willpower and 60% said people with mental illness should have their own groups “so they don’t contaminate others.” Ouch.

And many of those surveyed called mental illness “a rich person’s disease” as “celebrities or people with money feel it as they have too much time.” But while mental health affects people across all countries, and all social groups, in fact poverty and social disadvantage are strongly associated with mental disorder. According to a world-wide study of mental health rates in young people, “growing up in a poor household increases the risk of exposure to adversities such as scarcity of food, poor nutrition, violence, inadequate education, and living in a neighbourhood characterised by absence of social networks, all of which are risk factors for mental disorder.” In fact, the study listed 24 biological, psychological and social risk factors for mental health problems, and 14 of them are heavily associated with coming from vulnerable circumstances.

Mental health matters, and we want to build up strong, secure young men and women so that they can go out and take on the world, no matter what it throws at them.

Not only does poverty contribute massively to a young person’s risk of mental health problems; mental illness contributes to continuing the cycle of poverty. Young people with mental health issues are more likely to underachieve in education, have higher health-care costs and be unable to get or keep a job, keeping them in a downward spiral of poverty and mental illness with the potential to put them at risk of other issues, such as substance abuse and other physical and mental health problems.

So the young people we support are not only at risk of mental health problems because they’re at a vulnerable age; they also live in a country influenced by risk factors of both developing and developed countries, their communities’ attitude to mental health means there’s a significant stigma attached to having a mental illness or getting help for it, and they come from particularly difficult circumstances which makes them even more vulnerable to mental health problems, and getting stuck in the cycle of poverty and mental illness.

That’s why we’re so unbelievably grateful for our RAMP mentors. Dennis and Sharon come alongside our young people, and give them the personalised mentoring support they need to deal with the things they’ve been through. If a young person needs to get further, professional help, we make sure that they have the money they need to do that. Mentoring support is integrated with all the other aspects of the programme, to reduce the perceived stigma attached to getting help for mental health problems and to address the interconnected nature of mental health with other aspects of poverty – such as education, housing and life skills.

One of our young people – Amorshi – knows exactly how poverty can escalate mental health issues, and vice versa. After her father lost his job due to mental health issues of his own, and her parents decided to separate, Amorshi describes going through “a lot of mental disturbances, hopelessness and failures in my life – there was a lot of discouragement from family members, and even abusive insults, due to my parents’ separation”. Thankfully, Amorshi came to live in a local organisation’s children’s home so she could concentrate on studying, and now she’s completing a degree in Psychology as part of RAMP. She says, “I hope to make use of this subject by becoming a counsellor. It is my wish to tell people about how much their existence is significant in this world.”

“I hope to make use of this subject by becoming a counsellor. It is my wish to tell people about how much their existence is significant in this world.”

And that’s what we want for every child and young person we support – to know that they are significant; to know that somebody cares about every aspect of their wellbeing, and that goes beyond the basic needs of food and a safe place to stay. Mental health matters, and we want to build up strong, secure young men and women so that they can go out and take on the world, no matter what it throws at them.

If you want to contribute to the mental health of young people like Amorshi, you can click the donate button below. £30 enables a Project Mentor to provide mentoring and emotional support for a whole month, alongside the rest of the programme.