In this next article in our series on mental health, Zill-e-Anam discusses the culture of silence that prevents many researchers and students from discussing their mental health issues, thus compounding the problem and delaying treatment for those who need it the most.

We are running a series of articles focused on understanding the interaction between mental illnesses and academic life, and the need for greater awareness and research into the same. Next in this series, Debdutta draws insights from his own experiences in graduate school to suggest what institutions and individuals can do to improve mental health conditions within academic spaces.

We are progressively seeing the signs of a burgeoning mental health crisis in academia. In this new series, we will examine the status of mental health awareness and research in the Indian context, and discuss possible strategies and interventions to counter the issue. In this invited article, Hina Lateef Nizami writes about why we need to break free of the habit of normalizing poor mental health and burnout in academic circles.