Traditional values & Yoga helpful in treating depression, says Pranab Mukherjee

Traditional values & Yoga helpful in treating depression, says Pranab Mukherjee

New Delhi : President Pranab Mukherjee today said traditional Indian values and Yoga can become good mechanisms to support people suffering from mental health disorders and noted that social stigma attached to such conditions remains a "major" problem in India.

On World Health Day, which focuses on depression this year, Mukherjee said that this condition is the most common form of mental health disorders and asked medical fraternity to focus on traditional support systems, social support systems and spiritual beliefs and practices in providing wellbeing to all.

Observing that 5.2 per cent of the adult population in India suffer from depression in some form, he appealed to health professionals to "think globally and act locally" and come together to meet the challenges of depression.