Survey Overview

Mpower, the largest private mental‑health service provider in India operating under the Aditya Birla Education Trust, released the 2026 survey titled “Unpack Your Emotional Baggage.” The study collected responses from young adults aged 18 to 25 across ten cities – Mumbai, Pune, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Goa, Hyderabad, Chennai and Jaipur – to assess emotional stressors, coping mechanisms, help‑seeking behaviour and peer‑response patterns.

Key Findings on Emotional Distress

  • Concealment of emotions: 49.5% of respondents said they hide difficult emotions and try to manage them entirely on their own.
  • Professional help‑seeking: Only 9.2% reported having sought professional mental‑health assistance.
  • Non‑judgmental support: A mere 13.6% indicated that someone listened without judgment and provided support when they opened up.
  • Feelings of hopelessness: 67.3% admitted to feeling hopeless or losing hope at some point in their lives. Among those, the primary trigger was academic pressure or exams (58.4%), followed by uncertainty about the future (14.3%) and relationship issues (10.4%).
  • Self‑reporting behaviour: Over 40% said they tell others “I’m fine” when they are not, many avoid conversations about feelings, and many keep themselves constantly occupied to distract from distress.
  • Responses received: When participants did disclose distress, 40.4% said the reaction they received was to “be strong,” while others were told they were “over‑thinking” or were encouraged to focus on work or studies.

Peer‑Support Dynamics

  • Listening without judgment: 62.2% said they would listen without judgment if a friend confided suicidal thoughts.
  • Referral to professional help: Only 6.9% would try to find someone else for the distressed person to talk to, whereas 22.3% would inform the person’s parents and leave responsibility with them.

Gender‑Specific Stressors

  • Women: Reported higher internal stressors – constant over‑thinking (60% female share), self‑doubt (56%) and body‑image concerns (69%).
  • Men: Reported higher external stressors – work‑related stress (57% male share) and financial insecurity (54%). Notably, 60% of respondents who said they do not realise something is wrong until another person points it out were male, highlighting a need for stronger self‑awareness among young men.

Everyday Emotional Impact

  • 47% become angry or irritated more easily.
  • 36.7% experience difficulty concentrating or enjoying activities.
  • 31.3% report an impact on daily work or routine.

Commentary from Leadership

Speaking on World Suicide Prevention Day, Mrs Neerja Birla, Founder and Chairperson of the Aditya Birla Education Trust, noted that “Forty percent of the young people we spoke to have been told to just be strong. Only nine percent felt able to seek professional help…The fix is catching this early, in schools, before silence becomes the only coping mechanism a young person knows.”

Mpower’s Reach and Initiatives

Mpower, through its comprehensive focus on mental‑health literacy, capacity building, community outreach and access to care, has touched over 7 million lives to date. Its platform Mpowered Voices provides a space for individuals to share lived experiences, fostering empathy, reducing stigma and making mental‑wellbeing conversations more relatable.

Implications

The survey underscores a substantial gap between rising mental‑health awareness and actual help‑seeking among Indian youth, indicating that awareness campaigns alone are insufficient. Effective interventions will need to shift toward early school‑based emotional‑literacy programs, non‑judgmental peer support mechanisms and streamlined pathways to professional care.