Page 17 - Insurance Times September 2019

Cover Story

MODERN AND

EMERGING

RISK-MENTAL

ILLNESS

S tructural changes, systems under stress, 145 countries-recorded its highest-ever levels of stress,

underemployment and failing institutions have a
sadness, anger, worry and physical pain. In a disruptive
tremendous human cost in terms of increasing
economy, the disrupted feel ever more vulnerable, as the
anxiety, anger and loneliness in the world. The
causes may be macro, but the effects are micro, and the pace of radical change increases while their ability to plan
for and react to it decreases.
warning signs are everywhere.
"For many people, this is an increasingly anxious, unhappy
In India, 90 percent of young employees say their mental and lonely world. Complex transformations-societal,
health is adversely affected by the cost of living. 49 percent technological and work-related-are having a profound
workers report feeling stressed and in China the number impact on people's lived experiences," according to the
of people reporting mental health issues soared 25 percent World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report 2019. "A
between 2014 and 2016 to an estimated 173 million, only common theme is psychological stress related to a feeling
20 million of whom have received professional help. of lack of control in the face of uncertainty."

The 2017 Gallup Negative Experience Index-a snapshot of Noting that mental health problems now impact 700 million
the world's emotional state drawn from 154,000 people in people worldwide, the Global Risks Report contends that
the human cost of global risks like - declining psychological
and emotional well-being - represents a significant threat
About the author with corrosive effects on social cohesion and politics.

Sanjay Singh In many ways, the mental health issues we face are similar
MBA (Insurance),Fellow-III,DCII-London to the physical health and safety challenges of the 19th
Shriram General Insurance Co Ltd century as industrialization changed the nature of work. In
Jaipur the 21st century, mental health and safety rules could play

The Insurance Times, September 2019 17