World Mental Health Day 2025 arrives against a backdrop of escalating global emergencies, underscored by the World Health Organization’s theme: “Access to Services: Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies.” This focus is both timely and necessary, as the cumulative impact of conflict, disasters, and pandemic fallout has underscored the urgent need for accessible mental health care, especially for those most vulnerable.
PM Modi Called For a Dialogue
In the Indian context, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a mainstreaming of mental health dialogue, a significant step in a society where stigma has long stifled open discussion. Actress Deepika Padukone, a prominent mental health advocate, marked a decade of her Live Love Laugh Foundation with a visit to a community in Madhya Pradesh, emphasizing both the progress achieved in reducing stigma and the ongoing necessity of making mental health care as routine as daily activities—her comparison to “gully cricket” is both apt and evocative.
Despite these advances, suicide rates remain stubbornly high, a stark indicator of the work that lies ahead. The data is sobering: over 720,000 individuals die by suicide each year, making it the third leading cause of death among those aged 15–29. Most of these deaths—approximately 73%—occur in low- and middle-income nations, where resources are scarcest.
Suicide Rates Sparks Call for Urgent Action
In India, the problem of suicides has been increasing year after year. Farmers due to agricultural crises, housewives due to family problems, and the unemployed due to lack of proper job opportunities are the ones who commit suicide the most. Daily wage workers and youth are also taking their lives in large numbers. Many students, unable to overcome academic backwardness from tenth grade to IITs and unable to withstand the pressure of scoring marks and ranks, are committing suicide. In 2019, a total of 139,123 suicides took place across the country, and by 2023, that number reached 171,418. Although suicides are increasing due to various reasons, the lack of proper measures to control them is unfortunate. According to 2023 data, it is alarming to look at which states have the highest number of suicides. The first five positions are held by Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and West Bengal. The next five positions are held by Kerala, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh. Bihar and Odisha, which have large populations and are recognized as poor states, are not on the list of the top ten states for suicides.
As Awareness Grows, Suicide Crisis Looms
Mental stress is one of the main causes of suicide, a social disease that plagues society. No government pays attention to this kind of social problem. They don't think about prevention methods. However, what many people don't know is that the United Kingdom (UK), one of the largest countries, established a special government department for suicide prevention and appointed a minister for it. On World Mental Health Day in 2018, then-Prime Minister Theresa May appointed her cabinet colleague Jackie Doyle-Price as the UK's first Minister for Suicide Prevention. This appointment took place while the UK government was hosting the first Global Mental Health Summit.
“Suicide” - A Silent Epidemic…
The factors contributing to suicide are multifaceted, defying simplistic explanations. Mental health disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, and substance use disorders are significant risk factors, as are chronic physical illnesses and neurodevelopmental conditions like autism. Economic stressors—unemployment, poverty, financial instability—further exacerbate risk, with World Bank analyses noting a direct relationship between lower national income and higher suicide rates.
Traumatic life events are another major driver, including acute crises such as relationship breakdowns, bereavement, and experiences of violence or abuse. Social isolation compounds these vulnerabilities. Access to care remains a formidable barrier. In many low-income countries, mental health professionals are exceedingly scarce, and pervasive stigma discourages help-seeking even where resources exist.
A Tale of Two Worlds…
Statistically, countries with the highest suicide rates—such as Lesotho (87.5 per 100,000), Guyana (40.9), and Eswatini (40.5)—tend to share markers of deprivation: high disease burden, economic instability, and underdeveloped mental health infrastructure. Other countries with elevated rates include Kiribati, Micronesia, Suriname, and Zimbabwe.
Conversely, nations like Barbados and Antigua and Barbuda demonstrate some of the world’s lowest suicide rates (0.3 per 100,000), with Grenada close behind (0.6). These outcomes are attributed to factors such as robust social cohesion, community support networks, and reliable access to health care.
The contrast between countries is sharp, highlighting persistent global inequities in mental health provision. As the WHO emphasizes, closing these gaps will require multisectoral strategies—integrating health, economic, and social policies—to make mental health care a fundamental right rather than a privilege, particularly for those grappling with the greatest adversity.