More than half (53 percent) of people who sought mental healthcare through Amaha had experienced mental health concerns for over a year before accessing professional support, while 56.2 percent reported thoughts of self-harm before seeking care, according to the Amaha Mental Health Report 2026.

Titled The Amaha Mental Health Report 2026: Understanding the Journey to Care in India, the report is based on responses from 13,825 people who answered questions before beginning care with Amaha between October 2025 and September 2026.

The report found that 94.9 percent of respondents experienced two or more mental health concerns. Only 11.3 percent sought professional care within a month of experiencing their concerns.

Before accessing care, 54.5 percent had spoken to friends or family, while 44.6 percent had tried self-help. Nearly a third (32.9 percent) had previously tried therapy, and 19.4 percent had been prescribed medication.

Coping strategies and self-harm

The report found that 82.7 percent of respondents relied on avoidant coping strategies, including excessive screen time, oversleeping and overworking. Meanwhile, 43.1 percent reported adaptive strategies such as exercise or journalling.

About 15.4 percent reported using alcohol or other harmful substances before seeking professional support. Men were more likely than women to report such use across all age groups from 18 to 54.

Thoughts of self-harm were reported by 71.7 percent of students and 64.7 percent of unemployed respondents, compared with 53.2 percent of working professionals.

The report cautioned that its findings reflect people who had sought care through Amaha and should not be interpreted as estimates for the overall Indian population.

Multiple concerns and daily functioning

Respondents reported an average of five concerns each. Anxiety was the most common, reported by 72.1 percent, followed by stress (67.5 percent), low mood (58.3 percent), relationship or interpersonal difficulties (55.6 percent) and frequent mood swings (54.1 percent).

Among those reporting sleep difficulties, 83 percent also reported anxiety. By the time they sought care, only 12.3 percent said they could manage all their daily tasks, while 27.3 percent could manage few or none.

The report also found that initial descriptions of distress did not always match subsequent clinical assessments. Among a subset of respondents, 33 percent of those who initially described themselves as stressed were later diagnosed with depression, while 10 percent of those who reported anxiety as a concern were diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Therapy and psychiatric care

Around 7 percent of people who began with therapy subsequently consulted a psychiatrist, while 20 percent of those who started with psychiatry also took up therapy. Among the latter group, 93 percent began therapy within their first three psychiatry sessions.

Clinicians reported improvement by the fourth session among 56.9 percent of people receiving psychiatric care, based on the Clinical Global Impression scale. The report noted that this finding applied only to psychiatry clients and did not represent an overall recovery rate.

Dr Amit Malik, psychiatrist, founder and CEO of Amaha, said progress in mental healthcare should be measured by people’s access to timely and effective treatment. He added that families, friends and communities had an important role in helping people recognise their needs and access professional support.

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