Giving Compass' Take:

• Manak Matiyani at India Development Review discusses how most work cultures and structures today in India are out of touch with the needs of young people, particularly when it comes to mental health and well-being.

• How can donors help support mental health programs in India that are targeted towards youth? How can the international community help with training and capacity-building in India?

• Read more about how mental health in India is underserved and underfunded. 

The mental health crisis we are seeing in India as a result of COVID-19 isn’t new—it’s just the old problem, in the new normal. Just as with every other aspect of the pandemic, the impact on mental health also intersects with class, caste, gender, age, and many other aspects of people’s identities.

At The YP Foundation, we work closely with young people—activists, youth leaders, and adolescents between the ages of 9-35—working on social change across India. For them, the uncertainty around education and employment, together with the economic impact on families, has been stressful. Additionally, in our rapid assessment of the impact of the lockdown on young people, mental and emotional stress due to being confined in rigid patriarchal spaces or with people who hold contrasting political ideologies came up repeatedly. This is higher for those who had previously been part of alternative spaces. Restricted mobility and heightened family surveillance over the past few months have led to young people all of a sudden losing access to safe spaces that were once available to them.

“We need to acknowledge some of the more deep-rooted issues related to work and well-being.”

But apart from the pandemic, we need to acknowledge some of the more deep-rooted issues related to work and well-being, particularly for young people.

Read the full article about productivity and well-being by Manak Matiyani at India Development Review (IDR).