Are Today's Kids More Suicidal? Unpacking the Alarming Mental Health Trends in India

In the past few months, Dr S Janani, psychiatrist, has been experiencing a phenomenon which is as “disturbing as it was concerning” she says. “Four children in the age group nine to 15 consulted me, all of whom were suicidal.

A couple of them even attempted suicide through overdosing, stealing grandparents’ medications.”What was even more worrying, she says, was the way the children spoke of suicide. “They were very clear and open about the fact that they didn’t want to live,” she says.Early signs of most major mental illnesses such as depression and schizophrenia start showing between 14 and 18, but nowadays she is coming across mood disorders in children as young as nine and 10 years old, says Dr Lakshmi Vijayakumar, psychiatrist and the founder of suicide helpline SNEHA.

“I got a patient recently who was just nine years old, with hypomanic episodes, a symptom of which is that the person loses all inhibitions.

The boy was confident, but extremely restless in class, not listening to the teacher and answering back, besides singing and dancing. He would ask the teachers things like: “Why are you wearing this kind of attire?” or “You don't have hair on your head”.

The teachers complained to the parents, who were upset as they realised that the child was the same at home as well. He would tell the neighbour, an old man, “You are drinking every Saturday. Do you know how damaging it is?”The doctors were in a quandary as they don’t prescribe medications for the condition for children.

“Because there are many drugs which have not been tested on children. Only when it is absolutely necessary, do we do it,” says Dr Lakshmi.Besides such cases, she also comes across children below the age of 12 who engage in self-harm; cutting their wrists using compasses, blades etc. “These are things you usually see in older children, but now it’s happening in younger ones. These are all cries for help,” says Dr Janani.A study on the ‘trajectory of suicide among Indian children and adolescents’, a pooled analysis of national data from 1995 to 2021 and published in Springer Nature in 2024 found that a rising trend of suicide rate among children and adolescents was observed in India over the past 26 years. A 2024 study published in Frontiers using Global Burden of Disease data and an Age–Period–Cohort (APC) analysis showed that from 1992 to 2021, India’s incidence of anxiety disorders rose dramatically — by 113.3% overall.

There were two notable peaks in incidence: adolescence (ages 10-14) and mid-life (ages 35-39). The emergence of a distinct peak in the 10-14 age group indicates that anxiety disorders are being first diagnosed at younger ages over time. The medical fraternity is divided on the reasons for this phenomenon, with some saying that childhood depression and other mental health conditions have always been there and also described in literature.

“It could be a perceived increase rather, as we started noticing them,” says Dr Ennapadam Krishnamoorthy, neuropsychiatrist, Buddhi clinic, who recently got a 13-year-old patient with significant, schizophrenic symptoms, including auditory hallucinations.

“Bipolar disorder in adolescence is not uncommon anymore,” he says.There is an increased awareness about mental health issues in children and he often comes across many who self diagnose and make their parents bring them to the psychiatrist.

“‘I told you this when I was 10 years old. You never listened to me’, they’d tell the parents,” says Dr Krishnamoorthy.Far from being stigmatised, it’s almost fashionable in the younger generation, he says. “They come in saying, ‘Doc, I think I got ADHD’ and are very disappointed if I tell them no.”Some of the kids she spoke to are cognizant of many of the terminologies of mental health, which she didn't know about till she joined college, says Dr Janani.

“The children themselves wanting to seek support is a positive trend. School counsellors are also actively involving themselves with children and their families, with schools becoming more supportive of a child who has mental health issues. If a friend has a difficult family or a difficult day, the children talk about it.

‘My friend has anxiety, and that's okay. It doesn't make him or her very different’ is the attitude.”Those with a genetic history of these illnesses show signs earlier, so do those with social media addiction, says Dr Lakshmi. "For every one hour increase in internet and social media viewing, there is an 8% to 10% increase in anxiety and depression.”At the same time, the change in family structures could also be contributing to early occurrence of these conditions, says Dr Krishnamoorthy. “In the past, there was always someone in the extended family the child could rely on or at least talk to; grandparents, uncles, aunts, or cousins.

That cushion is non-existent now. Children are being ferried from one class to the other, with no downtime.” To such an extent that when they say the student needs to come to therapy, the parent’s reaction is ‘where is the time?’, says Dr Krishnamoorthy.The burden of expectations from parents is high, as the parents, the first generation to see prosperity of some kind, are aspirational about their children, he says.Some argue that climate change, plastics etc. impact children’s mental health biologically, causing more instances of neuro divergence, but the jury is out on that, says psychologist Mahesh Natarajan, InnerSight. “But it is a harder time to be a young person in the world with greater pressures affecting children.”Early puberty could also play a role in earlier occurrences of mental health conditions, as the child is not equipped to deal with the hormonal changes which come with it, says Dr Lakshmi. What is the way forward? Yes, parents are more educated, and the stigma is reducing, at least in cities, but there is resistance and hesitancy on the part of both the family and the children to come in and talk, says Janani. “The earlier the identification, earlier the rectification, the better the prognosis.”The challenge, says Mahesh, is also in ensuring that the mental health assessment and support brings understanding, and doesn't become a badge or excuse.Reasons for early onset of mental illnesses· Chronic sleep deprivation owing to social media addiction· Excessive gaming· Exposure to substance abuse of various kinds very early· Changing family structures; no cushion of an extended family for support· Early puberty (especially girls)· Genetic history (more chances of early onset of mental illnesses)· Dysfunctional families/ absent parent/ parent into substance/single parent with step parent with a different parenting styleOn Tue, Sep 2, 2025 at 3:39 PM Asha Prakash <[email protected]> wrote: