Pakistan's silent crisis

Mental health in Pakistan has long been neglected; it is quietly emerging as one of the country's most overlooked issues, posing some of the gravest public-health challenges. Recent estimates suggest that nearly four in ten Pakistanis struggle with some form of mental disorder. This should be enough to lift the issue from the private domain to the national agenda.

Young people confronting unemployment and social pressures, women restricted within four walls, young girls denied timely marriages due to dowry demands or incompatible matches, communities affected by tribal feuds, and elderly citizens facing isolation all find themselves vulnerable. What binds these experiences is the absence of a system equipped to support them. The burden is no longer confined to any single demographic.

Pakistan's health infrastructure offers too little to too few. With fewer than 0.2 psychiatrists per 100,000 people, the system is structurally incapable of addressing a crisis of this scale. Primary healthcare centres rarely have trained counsellors, and educational institutions lack mental-health support services. Meanwhile, stigma suppresses help-seeking behaviour, pushing many into silence rather than treatment.

Untreated depression and anxiety undermine productivity, affect academic performance and strain family relationships. This silence has deadly consequences.

The economic costs are considerable, but the human cost is far greater. In recent years, rising cases of self-harm, particularly among the youth, have signalled a further deterioration in emotional well-being.

According to various reports, Pakistan has experienced a sharp rise in suicides in 2024 and 2025, with an estimated 15 to 35 people taking their own lives each day. Research further indicates that 38 % of Pakistanis are living with depression, with 25% suffering from its severe form. The WHO reports that nearly 19,331 suicide deaths occur in the country each year.

We are often shocked when hearing about the deaths of loved ones who had long been suffering from mental health issues in silence. Such tragedies may stem from job stress, excessive pressure from superiors or a lack of workplace support. Conflicts within marital relationships or strained relations with relatives over property are also factors that disturb mental health.

A few years ago, the entire nation was shaken by the news of SP Adeel Akber's death in Islamabad, as questions remain about whether it was accidental or a case of suicide. Other factors, such as unemployment, poverty, a lack of marital stability and the injustice individuals face within the system, further push people into severe mental distress.

What makes the situation more troubling is that mental health remains largely absent from public-policy discussions. It is not included in budget priorities, nor in any coordinated national strategy. As long as mental illness is viewed as a private burden rather than a public-health responsibility, the gap between need and provision will continue to widen.

This requires practical, incremental reforms. First, mental health must be prioritised within primary healthcare. Lady Health Workers for women and general practitioners for others should be trained to identify early signs of distress. Second, schools and universities should establish counselling units to support students before crises escalate. Third, awareness campaigns must normalise conversations around mental health, replacing stigma with understanding.

The broader socio-economic environment is also a factor that needs attention. Poverty, unemployment, insecurity and social fragmentation all feed mental distress. Any policy response that overlooks these structural factors will remain incomplete.

In Pakistan, traditional threats are converging with newer, less visible ones. Mental health is among the latter. It does not spread itself through headlines but through the quiet suffering of millions. Understanding its urgency is not only a health concern but a national one.

If this mental health crisis continues to be ignored, it will result in more deaths and increased social disorder. It must therefore be treated as a top priority to protect precious lives.