Ageing & mental health

Ageing in India: Mental Health, Community Healing & the Legacy & continuing work of Dr. R. Srinivasa Murthy

Mental health care must be where people live—not where systems expect them to go.” — Dr. R. Srinivasa Murthy

The Ageing in India: Challenges and Opportunities report by Sankala Foundation, NITI Aayog, and NHRC offers a sobering snapshot of elder vulnerability:

🔹 70% of elderly Indians are financially dependent

🔹 30% live with depressive symptoms, often undiagnosed

🔹 18.7% of elderly women live alone

🔹 Many face hunger, digital fraud, and lack of health insurance.

But behind these numbers is a deeper story—of emotional neglect, invisibility,loneliness and fractured support systems.Grateful to have the opportunity of Currently meeting with him & being mentored by him over calls & through emails ( Lucky to have him as My mentor in this phase who is my Father's Teacher inspiration for him & many senior Psychiatrists)

Dr. Murthy has been at the forefront of community Psychiatry in India & focussed on elderly care & caregiving values always.

He has shaped the architect of India’s community psychiatry movement.He told me about what are challenges faced by elderly & what he is doing now these days & should be normal in all societies as children are busy & Families are becoming shorter ,so community rehabilitation & being Stronger Together is the key to best loneliness & give sense of belongingness to each other.

His Legacy & Current Work

🏘️ Neighborhood Elder Circles

- He facilitates informal support groups in residential societies like Jayanagar and JP Nagar.And in his society.

- He facilitates regular evening/ morning walks along with elderly of the society in the park nearby .

- These circles offer storytelling, emotional check-ins, and peer companionship—designed to reduce isolation and foster dignity.

📚 Mental Health Literacy for Families

- Dr. Murthy conducts workshops for caregivers and families, focusing on:

- Recognizing depression and anxiety in elders

- Understanding grief and cognitive decline

- Building relational care practices rooted in Indian values

🖋️ Reflective Writing & Advocacy

- On platforms like Learning and Creativity, he shares essays on ageing, illness, and psychosocial healing.

- His tone is gentle, narrative-driven, and deeply human—often drawing from lived experience and cultural wisdom.

🏥 Primary Care Integration

- He continues to advocate for mental health screening during routine geriatric checkups.

- He mentors young psychiatrists and general practitioners to identify psychiatric comorbidities in older adult.

His philosophy is clear: elder care must be relational, accessible, and rooted in Indian values.

🔍 What We Must Do

-Spend quality time with elderly & regular checkups

- Build community-based mental health circles in every neighborhood

- Train families in emotional first aid for elders

- Integrate mental health into Ayushman Bharat and NPHCE

- Revive cultural care practices like Pitru Devo Bhava and sewa

- Support NGOs like HelpAge India, Silver Innings, and Dignity Foundation

India will have 35 crore elderly citizens by 2050. Let’s not wait for policy alone. Let’s act—with urgency, empathy, and inspiration from leaders like Dr. Murthy.

📌 Mental health doesn’t retire. Neither should our compassion.

#ElderMentalHealth #DrSrinivasaMurthy #PsychiatryForAllAges #AgeingIndia #NarrativeMedicine #CommunityCare #Lonel

https://www.outlookmoney.com/retirement/news/around-70-of-elderly-in-india-are-financially-dependent-many-work-after-retirement-to-survive-reportinessKills #SystemicHealing #CareWithDignity