Most of us have learnt to pay attention when the body sends us a warning—be it persistent pain or a racing heart. Such symptoms are difficult to ignore. Yet, the mind often receives a very different response. We tell ourselves we are tired, stressed, overworked or simply going through a difficult phase, hoping that a little rest and time will help us feel like ourselves again. Often that happens. But when it does not, we are surprisingly good at learning to live with what we should perhaps be paying attention to.
The mind and the body, after all, are in constant conversation. Sustained anxiety can disturb sleep, raise blood pressure and keep the body’s stress response working harder than it should. Depression has been associated with a significantly higher risk of heart disease, while people living with diabetes, cardiac disease, cancer and other long-term illnesses can experience considerable emotional distress. The reality is that what affects our emotional wellbeing can eventually take a toll on the body, just as physical illness can place an enormous burden on the mind.
This connection matters because emotional distress does not always announce itself dramatically. It may surface as poor sleep, fatigue, irritability, difficulty concentrating or a loss of interest in things once enjoyed. In our busy lives, these changes are easy to explain away, until not feeling quite well begins to feel normal. Perhaps our idea of resilience, too, needs reconsideration. We would rarely ignore persistent physical symptoms, yet when it comes to emotional wellbeing, we often equate strength with simply carrying on.
True strength also lies in recognising when something has changed and being willing to seek help. For many people in India, that step remains difficult. The mental health treatment gap is still substantial, with large numbers of people living with depression, anxiety and other conditions without professional support. Stigma and limited access are certainly part of the problem, but there is another, quieter barrier: people often wonder whether what they are experiencing is serious enough to warrant help, or whether they should simply be able to cope on their own.
Addressing this means making mental health care a more natural part of health care itself. Our health of the nation 2025 report has emphasised the need to integrate mental health assessments into routine health checks, while also widening access through digital mental health platforms and greater awareness. This matters because someone coming in for a cardiac assessment, a diabetes review or a regular health check brings more than a heart, a blood sugar reading or a set of test results into the consultation. They bring the whole person. At our children’s hospitals, the paediatric liaison psychiatry department similarly brings psychiatric expertise into the treatment journey of children coping with physical illness, recognising that their emotional wellbeing cannot be separated from their recovery.
That understanding needs to travel beyond hospitals and into our homes, schools and workplaces. A person becoming unusually withdrawn, a colleague who seems persistently overwhelmed, a young person whose behaviour has changed or an older parent losing interest in everyday life may not need us to have all the answers. They may simply need someone who notices, listens without judgment and, when necessary, encourages them to seek professional help.
World Mental Health Day is observed on October 10, but its message remains relevant throughout the year. Caring for the mind means recognising when we are struggling and seeking help before distress becomes a crisis. For too long, we have spoken about physical and mental health as though one belongs to the body and the other somewhere beyond it. Our biology tells us otherwise and, perhaps, our approach to wellbeing should finally reflect that understanding.
Caring for the mind is not separate from caring for our health. It is part of caring for the whole person, and ultimately, for life itself. The mind and the body are inseparable and, often, the mind speaks through the body.
Dr Preetha Reddy is Executive Vice Chairperson of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited.
