AIIMS experts have raised serious concerns about the escalating mental health crisis in recent years, highlighting evidence that disorders and associated disabilities have nearly doubled over the past few decades. According to a 2020 Lancet Psychiatry study authored by AIIMS researchers, the burden of mental health disorders doubled between 1990 and 2017, and the situation appears to have worsened further in the post-COVID era, with a noticeable surge in psychological distress across age groups. One of the most troubling trends highlighted is the rise in suicide cases among children.
The age group of 1 to 14 years is considered particularly critical, as this period often marks the early onset of conditions that may later manifest as adult mental health disorders. However, many early signs in children go unnoticed or untreated. Experts attribute this growing vulnerability to multiple…
