GROWING AWARENESS OF MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS AND THEIR TREATMENT A Narrative Review of Awareness, Stigma, Help-Seeking, and Youth Mental-Health Burden

Author

Kanika Sehgal, Dr. Manju Rani


Abstract

 Mental health problems are common during adolescence and young adulthood, but stigma, limited mental-health literacy, and barriers to care can delay help-seeking. The World Health Organization estimates that 14.3% of people aged 10–19 experience a mental health condition (WHO, 2025). This narrative review examines awareness, stigma, help-seeking, and treatment using WHO and UNICEF publications, India’s National Mental Health Survey, and peer-reviewed reviews. Global Burden of Disease analyses estimate that disability-adjusted life years attributable to mental disorders among people aged 10–24 rose from 26.1 million in 1990 to 36.3 million in 2021, while the age-standardised DALY rate increased by 14% (Tian et al., 2025). Evidence suggests that school-based literacy programmes can improve knowledge, although effects on stigma and help-seeking are less consistent (Amado-Rodríguez et al., 2022; Ma et al., 2023). This review uses secondary sources only and collects no original participant data. It concludes that awareness is most useful when linked to safe disclosure, trained support, clear referral pathways, and affordable, youth-friendly services.


Keywords

mental health awareness; adolescents; young people; stigma; help-seeking; psychological treatment; mental health literacy; prevention.



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References


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