The stigma surrounding the term ‘mental health’ is especially severe in Indian culture, where any deviation from the so-called ‘normal’ is viewed with a negative pair of lenses. Why do people hesitate to seek help? Are there enough mental health professionals in our country? Is information about mental illnesses easily accessible to the public for them to make informed decisions? What is the way forward? These are some of the issues that Anushka Banerjee, a Junior Research Fellow at the Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru addresses in this article.

Many successful academics continue to be plagued by feelings of “not belonging” or “not being good enough”. Some even hold an implicit belief that they have defrauded everyone around them into believing in their capability. In this next article in our mental health series, Divya delves into the “impostor syndrome” and some possible solutions for this pervasive mental health challenge.

While considering the issue of mental health in academia, it is important to remember that existing societal structures have a significant impact on the lives of researchers and these effects vary from community to community. In this next article in our series on mental health, Nazia discusses how trying to balance the expectations of a patriarchal society with their scientific aspirations affects the mental health of women in science and some possible solutions to this problem.

Studies suggest that prolonged financial instability can be a major contributor to mental health challenges. There is great disparity in the level of remuneration and financial incentives offered to graduate students in India, a population that is highly vulnerable to mental health issues. In this article, Joel explores some of the issues early career researchers face with regards to their financial security, and how these can leave an impact on their mental well-being.

While there has recently been a movement towards recognizing and countering the mental health crisis in academia, such conversations often fail to take into account the nuances of aspects like caste, gender/sexual identities, economic factors, and intersectionality. In this article, Sayantan examines the way the experiences of members of LGBTQIA+ communities affect their mental health and suggests ways in which the situation can be improved moving forward.