Caleb Wu, a passionate soccer player from Hartford, Connecticut, has made headlines by setting a new world record for the most alternating football (soccer) touches with the feet on a treadmill in 30 seconds, according to Guinness World Records. Wu, who scored an amazing 75 touches overall, believes that the activity helped him recover from a serious depressive episode.

The 22-year-old Wu has undergone a major transformation and discovered a fresh purpose in football. His struggle with mental health almost cost him his life, so achieving this milestone is very personal to him. With its demanding skills and rhythmic juggling, football became a source of courage and solace for him in his lowest moments.

Wu shared his motivation behind the record attempt: “I always had a passion for soccer, I did a lot of juggling tricks and soccer/football freestyle.

“My teammates challenged me as they showed me a video of someone trying and failing to do it so I wanted to prove them wrong – and it was a fun challenge. I was inspired because when I was younger I almost took my life and I wanted to make the most of my abilities and prove to myself that I can do awesome things,” he told Guinness World Records.

“I also wanted to inspire others to show them that they’re capable of overcoming obstacles,” he said.

Caleb also had to deal with racism during his formative years, from school classmates who would call him names.

He explained: “There were the common stereotypes and people would say Asians are only good at math. I wanted to show them I could compete as an athlete and was able to play college soccer for four years and was a captain for one year.

“I also became the first sponsored Division 3 Athlete and first sponsored college soccer player.”

He added: “I overcame my struggles through finding a passion and wanting to inspire and help others who also struggle.

New Delhi:

The Economic Survey on Monday flagged a rise in mental health issues among Indians, calling for a paradigm shift towards a bottom-up, whole-of-community approach to address the problem.

Paying attention to mental health in society is both a health and an economic imperative, the policy document asserted while dwelling on the topic in a vast and detailed manner for the first time highlighting the various socio-economic repercussions of the issue.

Mental health drags down productivity more widely in the ecosystem than individuals’ physical health issues, it noted.

Quoting the National Mental Health Survey (NMHS) 2015-16 data, the survey said 10.6 per cent of adults suffered from mental disorders in India while the treatment gap for mental disorders ranged between 70 to 92 per cent for different disorders.

Further, as per the NMHS, the prevalence of mental morbidity was higher in urban metro regions (13.5 per cent) as compared to rural areas (6.9 per cent) and urban non-metro areas (4.3 per cent), it added.

“The second and more expansive NMHS is currently in progress. According to Dhyani et al. (2022), individuals aged 25-44 years are the most affected by mental illnesses,” it noted.

Citing NCERT’s Mental Health and Well-being of School Students Survey, the survey said there is an increasing prevalence of poor mental health among adolescents, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, with 11 per cent of students reported as feeling anxious, 14 per cent as feeling extreme emotion and 43 per cent experienced mood swings. 50 per cent of students cited studies as a reason for anxiety, and 31 per cent cited examination and results.

“Mental health problems affect the quality of life of an individual and constrain the realisation of an individual’s potential. At an aggregate economic level, mental health disorders are associated with significant productivity losses due to absenteeism, decreased productivity, disability, and increased healthcare costs,” it pointed out.

On the policy side, the document noted that India is creating positive momentum in policy development by recognising mental health as a fundamental aspect of overall well-being.

However, it said, “While most of the policy design is in place, proper implementation can accelerate the improvement on the ground. That said, there remain certain gaps in the existing programmes which need to be addressed to maximise their effectiveness.” The fundamental issue of the lack of awareness about mental health and the stigma surrounding it can render any sincerely crafted programme unfeasible, it added.

“Hence, there is a need to bring about a paradigm shift and utilise a bottom-up, whole-of-community approach in addressing the topic of mental health. Breaking the stigma starts with taking cognisance of the natural human tendency to accept physical ailments and seeking treatment for the same while being in denial about mental health issues,” the Economic Survey for 2023-24 said.

To an extent, the denial is an outcome of fear about social attitudes and social acceptance after one ‘comes out’ with mental health issues, it said.

“For public health officials, tackling mental health requires acknowledging and addressing this fundamental reluctance. Arguably, mental health issues drag down productivity more widely in the ecosystem than individuals’ physical health issues. Hence, paying attention to mental health issues in society is both a health and an economic imperative,” the document noted.

The survey suggested that effective pathways for integrating mental health interventions in schools can include developing an age-appropriate mental health curriculum for teachers and students, encouraging early intervention and positive language in schools, promoting community-level interactions, and balancing the role of technology.

The increase in mental health issues in children and adolescents is often linked to the overuse of the internet and, specifically, social media. Unrestrained and unsupervised use of the internet by children can culminate into a range of problems, from the more prevalent obsessive consumption of social media or ‘doom scrolling’ to severe ones such as cyberbullying.

In the Indian context, the rising usage of the Internet on mental health has been indicated by a 2021 study on ‘Effects of using Mobile Phones and other devices with Internet accessibility by children’ by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, according to which 23.8 per cent of children use smartphones while they are in bed, and 37.2 per cent of children experience reduced levels of concentration due to smartphone use, it noted. PTI RKL DR

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on Monday called for a warning label to be added to social media apps as a reminder that those platforms have caused harm to young people, especially adolescents.

Mr Murthy wrote in the New York Times on Monday that a warning label alone will not make social media safe for young people but that it can increase awareness and change behavior as shown in evidence from tobacco studies. The US Congress would need to pass legislation requiring such a warning label.

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT

For a long time, Mr Murthy has been warning that social media can profoundly harm the mental health of youth, particularly adolescent girls. In an advisory last year, he called for safeguards from tech companies for children who are at critical stages of brain development.

A 2019 American Medical Association study showed that the risk of depression doubled for teenagers who were spending three hours a day on social media.

KEY QUOTES

“It is time to require a surgeon general’s warning label on social media platforms, stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents,” Mr Murthy wrote on Monday. 

“A surgeon general’s warning label, which requires congressional action, would regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe,” he added.

CONTEXT

Some US states have been working to pass legislation to safeguard children from the harmful effects of social media, such as anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses as a result.

New York state lawmakers this month passed legislation to bar social media platforms from exposing “addictive” algorithmic content to users under age 18 without parental consent.

In March, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill that bans children under 14 from social media platforms and requires 14- and 15-year-olds to get parental consent.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

India is a country teeming with more than 1.4 billion people, and is in the throes of a demographic transformation. Its adolescent population, aged 10-19 years, accounts for a substantial portion of the national total, some 253 million. This demographic segment is a significant part of what economists and demographers have come to call the ‘demographic dividend’.

These young minds hold the promise of economic prosperity and development – but few also acknowledge that this potential actually hinges on these young men’s and women’s physical as well as mental well-being.

Youth mental health out of focus

Adolescent health and well-being have become important in public health discourses worldwide. Acknowledging the adolescent cohort’s pivotal role in society, the governments of both the States and the nation have introduced numerous policies and programmes to protect and respond to the health-wise needs of these young individuals. However, a closer look reveals that mental health does not figure as predominantly as warranted in many of these policies.

Adolescence is a time of profound transformation. It marks the transition from childhood to adulthood, and is laden with challenges – including those related to the perception of one’s body and body image issues. Society’s expectations regarding the ‘ideal’ behaviour and body types can significantly affect physical and mental health. The weight of academic expectations, peer pressure, and concerns about the future also take a toll on mental health at this time.

The Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) is a Government of India policy that deals exclusively with adolescent health. It was rolled out on January 7, 2014. But despite having been in operation for nearly a decade, the mental health strategies under this policy have been implemented painfully slowly.

Under the purview of the National Health Mission, State governments were responsible for implementing the RKSK policy – including setting up ‘Adolescent Friendly Health Clinics’ as part of its facility-based strategies.

But to this day, the RKSK has not shared data on its critical components, including (but not limited to) mental health, violence, injuries, and substance misuse. It has also initiated few discussions on the curative aspect of mental health. And despite having recruited and trained numerous counsellors (both male and female) dedicated to adolescent health within the first three years of RKSK, many district-level vacancies persist.

Other policies – like the Sarva Shiksha Yojana (focused on learning disabilities), the National Youth Policy (substance abuse), the National Mental Health Policy, the Yuva Spandana Yojana (only in Karnataka) – address various immediate and underlying factors that affect mental health. However, most policies that are centred on adolescents have regarded mental health as a secondary concern.

An epidemic in the wings

Adolescents in India are particularly vulnerable to mental health problems like anxiety disorders and depression. Official reports have stated that among Indians aged 13-17 years, the prevalence of severe mental illness was 7.3% (as of 2015-2016). Even three years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health disorders among adolescents – often concealed beneath the promise of prosperity associated with this demographic – continue to become more common and have their effects felt.

An informal survey conducted by one of the authors (Smriti Shalini) from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, earlier this year revealed little awareness of RKSK among school-going adolescents, parents, and teachers in the urban slums of Mumbai – and less so of the digital interventions of RKSK, a mobile app called ‘Saathiya Salah’ and an e-counselling within that app. Further, during a focused group discussion, students attending a school that facilitated access to a school-based counsellor said that they had negatively labelled the counsellor as a “tension teacher”, and that they were reluctant to share their concerns with this individual, fearing that they might be reported and have their privacy violated.

In India, mental health disorders are underreported due to poor awareness, lack of help-seeking behaviour (stemming from stigma), a desire and/or expectations to be self-reliant, and insufficient prioritisation in the policy framework. Schemes designed to improve access to mental healthcare need to accommodate these factors.

In addition, through various studies, researchers have identified poverty, childhood adversity, and violence as the three main risk factors for the onset and persistence of mental-health disorders. They were also associated with poor access to good quality education, lack of employment, and reduced productivity. Educational failures and mental disorders in adolescence also interact in a vicious cycle.

Equity in healthcare remains a significant issue in India, and this also extends to mental health. Access to mental healthcare services is often skewed along the same lines – wealth, caste, location, gender, etc.

Gender disparities are particularly worrisome. Adolescent girls in India face unique challenges, including gender-based violence and discrimination, that can severely affect their mental well-being. Conversely, adolescent boys are commonly expected to conform to masculine ‘norms’ of stoicism and are victims of bullying and shaming. Many children from ‘broken homes’ also experience dysfunctional family relations and face discrimination within the family, often resulting in bottling-up as well as issues with managing anger and delegating authority.

A dividend beckons

Based on studies, surveys, and discussions with stakeholders, experts have identified the following solutions.

First, policymakers should endeavour to shift from the current “medical model” of mental health to the convergent model of mental health: the latter recognises the complex interplay of behavioural, environmental, biological, and genetic factors throughout an individual’s life, especially during the crucial stages of childhood and adolescence. To this end, well-meaning programs like RKSK can learn from the experiences of other countries to better implement its vision.

For example, the successful implementation of the ‘Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child’ model in the U.S. embraces a holistic approach to children’s well-being by considering factors such as nutrition, physical activity, and emotional health within the school environment.

Initiatives like establishing peer support groups in schools and colleges and community-based interventions leveraging technology can also encourage help-seeking behaviour.

Second, a multi-sector approach that includes underlying factors like education and nutrition should be at the core of policies to realise the full potential of adolescents. India’s youth is aspirational and deserves a good education. We need better pedagogy and resources that provide well-rounded development as well as employment. A good education empowers youngsters to access resources, assert their rights, and tackle societal and family issues better.

Third, we must recognise that a healthy mind thrives within a healthy body. The government should continue to make the improvement of school environments and health-promoting conditions a priority in parallel with efforts to combat pressing health concerns like malnutrition and anaemia.

Our nation’s future is banking on evidence-based policy-making and unwavering political commitment to be able to move mountains.

Smriti Shalini is pursuing a Master of Public Health in Health Policy, Economics and Finance at the School of Health Systems Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. M. Sivakami is a professor here.

Heart in your throat. Butterflies in your stomach. Bad gut feeling. These are all phrases many people use to describe fear and anxiety. You have likely felt anxiety inside your chest or stomach, and your brain usually doesn’t hurt when you’re scared. Many cultures tie cowardice and bravery more to the heart or the guts than to the brain.

But science has traditionally seen the brain as the birthplace and processing site of fear and anxiety. Then why and how do you feel these emotions in other parts of your body?

I am a psychiatrist and neuroscientist who researches and treats fear and anxiety. In my book Afraid, I explain how fear works in the brain and the body and what too much anxiety does to the body. Research confirms that while emotions do originate in your brain, it’s your body that carries out the orders.

Also Read | Where the mind is without fear: What is anxiety and how can we beat it? 

Fear and the brain

While your brain evolved to save you from a falling rock or speeding predator, the anxieties of modern life are often a lot more abstract. Fifty-thousand years ago, being rejected by your tribe could mean death, but not doing a great job on a public speech at school or at work doesn’t have the same consequences. Your brain, however, might not know the difference.

There are a few key areas of the brain that are heavily involved in processing fear.

When you perceive something as dangerous, whether it’s a gun pointed at you or a group of people looking unhappily at you, these sensory inputs are first relayed to the amygdala. This small, almond-shaped area of the brain located near your ears detects salience, or the emotional relevance of a situation and how to react to it. When you see something, it determines whether you should eat it, attack it, run away from it or have sex with it.

Threat detection is a vital part of this process, and it has to be fast. Early humans did not have much time to think when a lion was lunging toward them. They had to act quickly. For this reason, the amygdala evolved to bypass brain areas involved in logical thinking and can directly engage physical responses. For example, seeing an angry face on a computer screen can immediately trigger a detectable response from the amygdala without the viewer even being aware of this reaction.

Also Read | Sadness, sleeplessness, stress, and anxiety top mental health concerns shared on Tele MANAS

The hippocampus is near and tightly connected to the amygdala. It’s involved in memorizing what is safe and what is dangerous, especially in relation to the environment – it puts fear in context. For example, seeing an angry lion in the zoo and in the Sahara both trigger a fear response in the amygdala. But the hippocampus steps in and blocks this response when you’re at the zoo because you aren’t in danger.

The prefrontal cortex, located above your eyes, is mostly involved in the cognitive and social aspects of fear processing. For example, you might be scared of a snake until you read a sign that the snake is nonpoisonous or the owner tells you it’s their friendly pet.

Although the prefrontal cortex is usually seen as the part of the brain that regulates emotions, it can also teach you fear based on your social environment. For example, you might feel neutral about a meeting with your boss but immediately feel nervous when a colleague tells you about rumors of layoffs. Many prejudices like racism are rooted in learning fear through tribalism.

Also Read | Mental health awareness month: how to cope in the age of anxiety  

Fear and the rest of the body

If your brain decides that a fear response is justified in a particular situation, it activates a cascade of neuronal and hormonal pathways to prepare you for immediate action. Some of the fight-or-flight response – like heightened attention and threat detection – takes place in the brain. But the body is where most of the action happens.

Several pathways prepare different body systems for intense physical action. The motor cortex of the brain sends rapid signals to your muscles to prepare them for quick and forceful movements. These include muscles in the chest and stomach that help protect vital organs in those areas. That might contribute to a feeling of tightness in your chest and stomach in stressful conditions.

The sympathetic nervous system is the gas pedal that speeds up the systems involved in fight or flight. Sympathetic neurons are spread throughout the body and are especially dense in places like the heart, lungs and intestines. These neurons trigger the adrenal gland to release hormones like adrenaline that travel through the blood to reach those organs and increase the rate at which they undergo the fear response.

Also Read | How anxiety can look different in children

To assure sufficient blood supply to your muscles when they’re in high demand, signals from the sympathetic nervous system increase the rate your heart beats and the force with which it contracts. You feel both increased heart rate and contraction force in your chest, which is why you may connect the feeling of intense emotions to your heart.

In your lungs, signals from the sympathetic nervous system dilate airways and often increase your breathing rate and depth. Sometimes this results in a feeling of shortness of breath.

As digestion is the last priority during a fight-or-flight situation, sympathetic activation slows down your gut and reduces blood flow to your stomach to save oxygen and nutrients for more vital organs like the heart and the brain. These changes to your gastrointestinal system can be perceived as the discomfort linked to fear and anxiety.

It all goes back to the brain

All bodily sensations, including those visceral feelings from your chest and stomach, are relayed back to the brain through the pathways via the spinal cord. Your already anxious and highly alert brain then processes these signals at both conscious and unconscious levels.

The insula is a part of the brain specifically involved in conscious awareness of your emotions, pain and bodily sensations. The prefrontal cortex also engages in self-awareness, especially by labeling and naming these physical sensations, like feeling tightness or pain in your stomach, and attributing cognitive value to them, like “this is fine and will go away” or “this is terrible and I am dying.” These physical sensations can sometimes create a loop of increasing anxiety as they make the brain feel more scared of the situation because of the turmoil it senses in the body.

Although the feelings of fear and anxiety start in your brain, you also feel them in your body because your brain alters your bodily functions. Emotions take place in both your body and your brain, but you become aware of their existence with your brain. As the rapper Eminem recounted in his song “Lose Yourself,” the reason his palms were sweaty, his knees weak and his arms heavy was because his brain was nervous.