A rapidly changing world presents myriad challenges. NRIs, no doubt, are constantly up against struggles too big for them. Talking of mental health, NRIs in countries such as the US, the UK, or the UAE, who have easy access to advanced healthcare, do not have a conducive environment to express themselves and offload their cares. The stigma that surrounds them is so strong!

Over the years, mental healthcare has seen major advancements such as tele-health helplines that work 24/7, AI-led robots providing online therapy, and even apps generated to analyze emotion and mood based on the data collected everyday. These applications require you to provide a brief or detailed description of your day, your routine, and your current feelings, and analyses areas of distress providing completely customized encouragement, support, and empathy.

However, a software’s understanding of a human emotion leaves much to be desired. This is where a therapist or a mental health professional steps in, to not just bail an individual to safety but effectively eliminate the complexities of a stigma.

Results of a case study done in the UAE state that a large percentage of NRIs fear that receiving a mental health diagnosis could lead to discrimination and/or social ostracization. They even tend to worry about its impact on their employment and foreseen future in the country. Additionally, over 57% of the UAE population were found to suffer from at least one mental health concern, which was usually left untreated or simply neglected.

One important factor that weighs on an NRI’s mind is whether their experience of seeking psychological help would be ‘documented’. I wish to clarify here that though a mental health professional ‘documents’ sessions, the data is kept strictly confidential guarded by a thorough code of ethics. The laws of confidentiality varies from one country to the other. For example, US has a federal law called HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), which protects sensitive health information from disclosure without the patient’s consent.

The data protection laws of the UAE, though in place, need to be exercised better with the introduction of professional and informal methods that promote ‘mental health conversations’.

The gap between the availability of resources and the accessibility of care widens due to the damming up of free speech. The price people pay for staying silent and suffering within is greater than the cost of steering clear of social judgement.

Research reveals that there is no stigma attached to physical ailments such as headache or chronic body pain, as opposed to psychological and emotional problems. Symptoms of psychological distress such as fatigue, chronic lack of interest or appetite, demands as much attention as any physical problem.

A safe environment for NRIs to ‘speak up’ their concerns on mental wellness is the need of the hour. Communities must be taught to view the vulnerability of sharing as strength, not weakness.

Healthcare providers, who are trained to encourage conversations about mental and emotional health, must be appointed to work among employees, staff, residents, and the general public. Every work environment must conduct wellness sessions and group discussions to stimulate open communication tackling issues such as burnout, work stress, depression, anxiety, and other psychological conditions prevalent among them.

Tackling the root causes of psychological illness or distress among employees would certainly create strong-minded staff, exhibiting positively reinforced performance. Promoting mental health facilities with accent on ‘enhancing mindfulness’, and ‘effective stress management’ for formal and informal therapy could lead to positive outcomes, loosening the grip of stigma to a great extent, and eventually eliminating it. – editor@nrifocus.com

The writer is a counselling psychologist, specialising in mindfulness therapy and researching the quirks of life