Along with the COVID-19 pandemic, not just in India but around the world, doctors are noticing a rise in mental health issues. Dévora Kestel, Director of Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse at the WHO, recently said that poor mental health has become a parallel pandemic. In India, numbers of people going through psychological distress are rising. The same has been noticed in western countries such as the US and the UK, but also in our neighbour China. How do we address this? On this episode, host Siddharth Bhatia is joined by Dr Rajesh Parikh, Director of Medical Research and Hon. Neuropsychiatrist at Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai. Amount has impressive credentials, such as teaching psychiatrist at The University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine and a former WHO Global Expert on Depression, he has been invited to speak at many international universities and has written over 150 papers for medical journals. Dr. Parikh has been observing and writing about this parallel pandemic. On this episode, Sidharth and Dr. Parikh talk about the rising levels of depression and mental health problems among people and why it's important to be aware of this issue. Tune in for a very important conversation. Get in touch with Dr. Parikh: https://www.jaslokhospital.net/find-doctor/rajesh-parikh/273 Follow Sidharth Bhatia on Twitter and Instagram @bombaywallah bombaywallah and https://instagram.com/bombaywallah You can listen to this show on The Wire's website, the IVM Podcasts website, app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.