Mental Health in India: Capitalism, Productivity and Mental Health Distress
How a for-profit society creates not just joblessness, productivity cults, and work anxiety, but also other forms of inequality, leading to a mental health crisis in the country.
The ‘Mental Health in India’ series on The Chakkar will look at various gaps in conversation regarding mental health issues in the country, from the effects of history, to current cultural speed-bumps, solutions for coherent policies for the future, and much more.
“Productivity” has been a buzzword for years now, with books and courses telling us to wake up even, have the perfect mantra to get the most out of our day, and ask confidently for a raise. The subtext between the lines always seems to be that, your success and happiness—and thus, also your unhappiness—is up to you. There are many Indian instagram influencers, motivational speakers, and self-help experts, who also tout this tune.
While it may help to sell content, this is an inherently flawed logic because people are being made responsible for something they may have little control of. As conversations about GDP and job loss loom over millions of Indians, it is perhaps a good time to think about how various aspects of our work lives and our economic structures may be producing mental health distress.
Living in a capitalist society means these three main aspects:
a. We have little to no control on the means of production, most of us are workers working for an invisible entity.
b. The only control we have is on improving ourselves as products. This means that there is a pressure to keep getting better by “doing something”; the pressure to be productive. It also leads to anxiety, depression, self-image problems and an imposter syndrome. Carrying this stress can have a negative effect on our relationship with others.
c. The link between social and economic inequality and mental health is purposely discouraged, so we do not organise against these issues, and instead, blame ourselves. (A related point is that when mental health issues become extreme, the solutions offered are also often individual in nature, and do not recognise social causes or social solutions)
Another related point is that consumerism—buying things to feel good—is considered the main way to show one’s status, and also to pass one’s leisure time. This means we often live in a society where we are encouraged to escape feelings with consumerist habits. But in tougher times—such as the ongoing pandemic—this hyper focus on productivity may be taking us away from the very necessary process of grieving.
We often live in a society where we are encouraged to escape feelings with consumerist habits. But in tougher times—such as the ongoing pandemic—this hyper focus on productivity may be taking us away from the very necessary process of grieving
Though we may not consciously recognize it, a for-profit society creates not just joblessness, productivity cults, and work anxiety, but also other forms of inequality. For example, our current work structure fails to make workplaces family-friendly, thus forcing women to give up their jobs when they become mothers; or perhaps, due to lack of sexual harassment training and implementation. The same structure also encourages child-labour and poorer pay for the children at work.
The falsely-induced competition of a capitalist society ends up ignoring the rights for those on the margins—be it in the courtroom or in an office-space—and is seen as going against the larger interest of everyone else. At home, this means perpetual inequality between men and women, leading to all forms of abuse and violence. We cannot expect anything different if profit is the main driving factor.
Remarking against competition regarding both illness and wellness, Mikkel Krause Frantzen says,
“Insisting on the politics of illness, mental health, and depression, it is crucial to keep such local and global differences in mind. This should not, however, lead to a competition of social suffering. Competition is precisely what capitalism is all about, and seeks to intensify, so that we are, simultaneously, alone in our suffering and fighting among each other’s suffering selves. But it should lead to a recognition that a critique of capitalism will need to take into account the contextualized psychopathology of depression as well as other mental illnesses”.
This competition and dismissal was witnessed recently in the nation’s reaction to actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide. As a community, so many in the mainstream media refused to accept the link that the unequal structures factored on his life and mental health, bringing upon wild conspiracy theories instead.
In his piece “Good For Nothing” on The Occupied Times of London, Mark Fisher wrote,
“On the urging of one of the readers of my book Capitalist Realism, I started to investigate the work of David Smail. Smail – a therapist, but one who makes the question of power central to his practice – confirmed the hypotheses about depression that I had stumbled towards. In his crucial book The Origins of Unhappiness, Smail describes how the marks of class are designed to be indelible. For those who from birth are taught to think of themselves as lesser, the acquisition of qualifications or wealth will seldom be sufficient to erase – either in their own minds or in the minds of others – the primordial sense of worthlessness that marks them so early in life”.
And yet, how many psychological theories of worthlessness account for one’s socio-economic location? Do we not see this in the Indian middle class’s ambitions to become a “Bada Aadmi”—a big man—which lead to much career and exam pressure on children, while their mental health is ignored in the process?
This way of looking at mental health is definitely more socially just. However, is this sort of realisation possible at a larger level? Some countries are starting to shift how they look at mental health care and what contributes to mental distress. This has been possible because of the advocacy of survivors. According to this article on Capitalism and Mental Health,
“In 2017 in Britain, the mental-health action group National Survivor User Network unequivocally rejected the medical model and planted social justice at the heart of its campaign. As part of its call for a social approach to mental health, the group explicitly denounces neoliberalism, arguing that austerity and cuts to social security have contributed to the increasing prevalence of individuals who suffer from poor mental health as well as to the exacerbation of existing mental-health issues among the population.”
As a post-colonial country, India has to pay attention to what colonial structures it has retained which continue to oppress its people. One of those structures could be our workplaces and work culture. In an essay about scholar Frantz Fanon for the Conversation, Garth Stevens wrote:
Fanon recognised mental illness as a real experience that people endure. But he also offered an understanding of it as being influenced by society as well as culture. It opened up the possibilities of linking madness to the intractable contradictions of colonial and post-colonial societies. In doing so, Fanon tackled the quintessential question of the relationship between the individual and social structure – especially when the social structure itself is oppressive.
What might the future of mental healthcare look like if anti-capitalism became part of this conversation? Some thoughts shared in this piece by Pitchfork Cosmonaut useful,
“The economy does not need to be based on profit, controlled by a tiny minority to the detriment of the masses. We can organise society based on human need to eliminate poverty and bring about a new historical era of abundance. We can have universal mental healthcare provision and not be fobbed off with 6‑week CBT courses.”
Frantzen, quoted earlier in this piece also has some ideas:
“The point is obviously not to get out of depression so that we can get back to the work that caused the depression to begin with. The point must be, rather, to destroy the material conditions that make us sick, the capitalist system that destroys people’s lives, the inequalities that kill. Thus, creating another world together.”
At an individual level, what might this mean? First and foremost, we can start asking of what are the real needs in our lives—and which of those needs are tied to deep-held values. It is possible that we are subconsciously aiming for a certain lifestyle just because you were told our self-worth is tied to it. Secondly, even if we cannot escape the system as of yet, really question the inputs to work that are a result of one feeling like we are not doing enough. At least, we can start questioning the internalised capitalism and productivity in this manner.
Lastly, it could be important to get individual/group/community care, which is on the themes of understanding oneself—and organising away from capitalist ideas of the self.
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Sadaf Vidha (she/her) is a therapist and researcher with five years of experience. She is interested in cross-disciplinary understanding of human behavior at the intersections of mental health, sociology, social justice and economics. In her free time, she likes to read, paint, bake and play with her cats. You can find her on Instagram: @shrinkfemale and Twitter: @randomwhiz.
