The article argues that the growing global crisis of loneliness and its associated mental and physical health risks, particularly among young people, cannot be solely addressed by clinical interventions, especially given resource constraints in mental healthcare. It advocates for a shift towards social prescribing, a holistic approach where healthcare professionals refer individuals to community-based services that tackle social determinants of health like isolation and stress. This model, already adopted in over 30 countries, utilizes "link workers" to connect people with activities such as arts, culture, physical exercise, and nature-based programs, aiming to improve well-being and reduce the burden on traditional healthcare. The author further proposes integrating these activities, often treated as extracurricular extras, into school and college curricula as mandatory components to foster happiness, health, and essential human connection, thereby preventing a generation of burned-out adults and deepening mental health issues.

The article argues that the growing global crisis of loneliness and its associated mental and physical health risks, particularly among young people, cannot be solely addressed by clinical interventions, especially given resource constraints in mental healthcare. It advocates for a shift towards social prescribing, a holistic approach where healthcare professionals refer individuals to community-based services that tackle social determinants of health like isolation and stress. This model, already adopted in over 30 countries, utilizes "link workers" to connect people with activities such as arts, culture, physical exercise, and nature-based programs, aiming to improve well-being and reduce the burden on traditional healthcare. The author further proposes integrating these activities, often treated as extracurricular extras, into school and college curricula as mandatory components to foster happiness, health, and essential human connection, thereby preventing a generation of burned-out adults and deepening mental health issues.

The article argues that the growing global crisis of loneliness and its associated mental and physical health risks, particularly among young people, cannot be solely addressed by clinical interventions, especially given resource constraints in mental healthcare. It advocates for a shift towards social prescribing, a holistic approach where healthcare professionals refer individuals to community-based services that tackle social determinants of health like isolation and stress. This model, already adopted in over 30 countries, utilizes "link workers" to connect people with activities such as arts, culture, physical exercise, and nature-based programs, aiming to improve well-being and reduce the burden on traditional healthcare. The author further proposes integrating these activities, often treated as extracurricular extras, into school and college curricula as mandatory components to foster happiness, health, and essential human connection, thereby preventing a generation of burned-out adults and deepening mental health issues.

WALK INTO ANY high school, college campus or corporate office bay today and you can feel the stress in the air. Sunk into their phones, children and young adults are deeply engaged in social media where they have hundreds of friends and followers. Yet globally, one in six people report loneliness; in urban India, 43 to 61 per cent of adults indicate loneliness. The WHO has classified it as an urgent public health concern, given the increased risk of premature death, stroke and cardiovascular disease.

Schools have long tried to fix youth anxiety, depression and social isolation by hiring more counsellors or handing out mental health brochures. But we need to stop treating youth mental health like a medical problem solvable only in a psychiatry clinic. It’s a problem we all know exists, and we can help by analysing and working on what a regular school or college day actually looks like.

The resource constraint makes this more urgent. India has 0.75 psychiatrists per 1,00,000 people, against the WHO recommendation of 3. The pool of clinical psychologists and support staff is equally thin, and this is true in most countries, including in the western developed world.

Dr Suravi Sharma Kumar

We must also remind ourselves that clinical care determines only about 20 per cent of an individual’s overall health. The remaining 80 per cent is shaped by environment, lifestyle and social connections. Social prescribing is a health care framework built on exactly this understanding: treating a person holistically to improve long-term quality of life.

In social prescribing, doctors and nurses refer patients not to clinics but to community-based services that address the social determinants of health: isolation, financial stress, physical inactivity. Patients meet a “link worker” who assesses their non-medical needs, personal interests and what brings them purpose. The result is not a pill but a tailored action plan—local community groups, clubs, voluntary services. The goal is to empower individuals, improve mental health, reduce isolation and reduce the burden on clinical care.

More than 30 countries have formalised or piloted such programmes. The UK is the pioneer: through the NHS Long Term Plan, social prescribing is integrated into primary care networks, employing thousands of link workers. The Netherlands runs Welzijn op Recept—Well-being on Prescription—with wellbeing coaches handling municipal referrals. The US is growing the model through Accountable Care Organizations and community clinics. Japan, South Korea and China are actively piloting programmes. These target root social causes, hand-hold people through life transitions like retirement, divorce and bereavement, and in cases of mild to moderate anxiety and depression, serve as an alternative or adjunct to medication.

Common pathways include arts and culture—painting, pottery, community choirs, theatre, museum visits—found effective for mental stimulation and anxiety reduction. They also include physical activity groups, from city walks to cycling sessions and community gardening. And nature-based activities like forest bathing, outdoor conservation and park prescriptions that reduce cortisol and stimulate the mind.

This isn’t a radical idea. In the UK and Canada, doctors are already writing social and green prescriptions. Instead of medication for an anxious teenager, a doctor writes a prescription to join an art class, a dance group or a football team. If medical doctors are using art and sport to heal and prevent disease, we can surely have policies that make these mandatory in schools and colleges.

Staring at computer screens or pages of textbooks overloads the brain with stress chemicals. Creative arts, sport and drama act as a reset—clearing those chemicals, restoring balance.

Dance, drama, arts and after-school sports are always treated as extras—things kids can pursue after the textbooks are done, and the first to go when budgets are cut. This has been happening for decades. By treating creative pursuits and physical activity as though they don’t matter in practical life, we have taught children that their own interests and happiness don’t matter. Educational institutions have put young minds under intense stress, focused only on grades and profiles, stripping them of the very things that make life worth living.

This is also about understanding how human systems work. Staring at computer screens or pages of textbooks overloads the brain with stress chemicals. Creative arts, sport and drama act as a reset—clearing those chemicals, restoring balance.

It is time to make art, music, dance, drama and sport mandatory for every student. Drama and dance, in particular, compel children to make eye contact, communicate face-to-face and practise the forgotten art of being human together.

In a young country like India, if we keep judging children solely by test scores, we will raise a generation of burned-out adults. Making art and sport mandatory isn’t about producing professional athletes or famous painters. It’s about keeping children happy, healthy and human, and preventing the mental health crisis from deepening further.

The writer is a pathologist and author.

TAGS