The Stree Syndrome

Mental health needs to be reframed as a human right—especially for women in India who have been silenced, stretched thin, or made to feel small

- Vineetha Mokkil

WHEN Tarini got married, she was working at a leading professional services firm in Delhi. A year later, she was promoted to Senior Manager. The promotion was a highpoint, but her in-laws wouldn't stop complaining. Their taunts about how little time she spent cooking and entertaining guests became a constant. “They would compare me to daughters-in-law of other families,” she says. “I always fell short. I was unfit to be [their only son] Saurabh’s wife.” Juggling her job and the criticism at home was tough. Tarini lost her appetite. She couldn’t sleep. It felt like she was “drowning in a dark sea” all the time. When she was diagnosed with severe depression, her husband and in-laws dismissed it as “just stress”, asking her not to make a fuss.

Tarini’s experience is not a rarity. According to the 2025 Mpower survey, one in every two Indian women suffer from chronic stress. Causes include societal expectations, financial concerns, and work-life balance issues. Depression and anxiety in women are twice as much as in men, affecting 25 per cent of Indian women. The suicide ratio for women in India is 2.1 times higher than the global average. Counselling psychologist Damini Grover says that the Mpower survey’s finding sadly aligns with what she sees in therapy rooms. Indian women are under enormous pressure to play many roles, and to play them perfectly: carer, career woman, daughter, mother, sister, spouse... “Women, often seen as the emotional anchors of the family, are expected to be nurturing and resilient, regardless of what they're going through internally,” Grover notes. “This emotional labour goes largely unnoticed and unrewarded, leading to chronic stress, anxiety, and often a deep sense of loneliness.”