More than half of people seeking mental healthcare in India waited over a year before accessing professional support, while 56.2% experienced thoughts of self-harm before seeking care, according to a recent study--Amaha Mental Health Report 2026: Understanding the Journey to Care in India.
Based on responses from 13,825 people who answered questions before beginning care with Amaha between October 2025 and September 2026, the report examines the challenges people face before reaching professional mental health services.
The findings reveal significant delays in accessing care, with 53% of respondents living with mental health concerns for over a year before seeking professional help. Only 11.3% accessed care within the first month. During this period, many turned to informal support and self-help, with 54.5% speaking to friends or family and 44.6% trying self-help strategies. Nearly a third had previously tried therapy, while 19.4% had been prescribed medication.
The report also highlights the complexity of mental health concerns, with 94.9% of respondents reporting two or more concerns and naming an average of five each. Anxiety was the most common concern, reported by 72.1%, followed by stress (67.5%), low mood (58.3%), relationship or interpersonal difficulties (55.6%) and frequent mood swings (54.1%). Among respondents reporting sleep difficulties, 83% also reported anxiety.
Coping with these challenges often involved avoidant behaviours. Excessive screen time, oversleeping and overworking were reported by 82.7% of respondents, while 43.1% reported adaptive strategies such as exercise or journaling. Additionally, 15.4% reported using alcohol or other harmful substances before accessing professional support. Men were more likely than women to report such use across every age group from 18 to 54 examined in the report.
Thoughts of self-harm were particularly prevalent among students and unemployed respondents. While 56.2% of respondents overall reported such thoughts before seeking care, the proportion rose to 71.7% among students and 64.7% among unemployed people, compared with 53.2% among working professionals. The report also found that mental health difficulties affected everyday functioning: only 12.3% said they could manage all their daily tasks, while 27.3% struggled to manage most or any of them.
The findings further underline the importance of professional assessment, as the words people initially use to describe their distress do not always match subsequent clinical findings. Among a subset of respondents, 33% of those who described themselves as stressed were later diagnosed with depression, while 10% of those who identified anxiety as a concern were diagnosed with ADHD. These findings do not establish a direct link between individual symptoms and diagnoses but highlight the need for appropriate clinical evaluation.
The report also examines how people move between therapy and psychiatry. Around 7% of those who began with therapy subsequently consulted a psychiatrist, while 20% of those who started with psychiatry also took up therapy. Among people receiving psychiatric care, 56.9% showed improvement by their fourth session, according to clinicians' ratings on the Clinical Global Impression scale. This finding applies only to psychiatric clients and should not be interpreted as an overall recovery rate.
Commenting on the findings, Dr. Amit Malik, psychiatrist, founder and CEO of Amaha, said India's progress in mental health must be measured by whether people can access timely and effective care, rather than simply by how openly mental health is discussed. He emphasised the role of friends, families and communities in helping people recognise their needs and find professional support, while calling for a care system that supports recovery, relationships, work and greater independence.
Overall, the Report 2026 highlights the need for earlier intervention, easier access to professional support and a more integrated approach to mental healthcare. The findings are based on people who sought care with Amaha and should not be interpreted as representative estimates of the Indian population as a whole.
