Mental health in the times of Covid pandemic 

World Mental Health Day is an international day for global mental health education awareness and advocacy against social stigma.

World Mental Health Day 2021 is taking place on October 10, Sunday for pressing need to focus sufficiently on health beyond the physical in a sustained way in the world still struggling to fight the Coronavirus. The day merits more attention in COVID 19 times.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has increased inequalities in human development, including dealing a double whammy to mental health by causing more incidence of mental disorders and disrupting already limited mental health services.

Moreover mental health is a state of well being in which the individual realises his or her own abilities can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and make a contribution to the community.
According to WHO, even before COVID 19 mental disorder of varying severity affected one in seven Indian. It adds upto 20 crore people having mental disorder in the country.
It is the time to re-imagine our approach towards mental healthcare beginning with increasing the budgetary allocation.
According to the NMHS, mental health disorder also accompanied by stigma, thereby making affecting education and livelihood opportunities. What is even more worrying is that there is correlation between the prevalence of mental disorder and suicides, Whereas Indians account for more than one fourth of death by suicide globally, the disease, death of kith and kin and loss of income have caused mental health.
Now the National Mental Health Policy guides the National mental health programme. The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has already released guidelines for prevention activities to address mental health issues caused by COVID-19. So we should aware the people for positive mental health because they can realize their full potential and also cope with the stress of life and also make meaningful contribution to their communities,
To maintain positive mental health people should be guided to connect with others, staying positive and getting physically active. It is the need of the hour.