77 Per Cent British Sikhs in UK Feel Their Lives are Stressful: Report

As many as 77 per cent or eight in every 10 British Sikhs find their lives stressful, the sixth annual British Sikh Report revealed. The report, that was launched at an event in the UK Parliament on Apr. 25 is seeking to raise awareness on mental health issues within the community.

The report observed that twice as many Sikh women have been diagnosed with mental health issues. The report provides quantitative data about UK’s Sikh community, stating that 80 per cent of Sikh women and 68 per cent of Sikh men admit to knowing someone who has experienced poor mental health issues within the community over the past year.

“This year we placed a higher focus on the questions about mental health,” Jasvir Singh OBE, chair of the British Sikh Report was quoted as saying by the Times of India. “As part of that we commissioned an article to analyze the data,” Singh said.

Dr Jagbir Jhutti-Johal, a senior lecturer in theology and religion at the University of Birmingham, wrote in an article commissioned by the British Sikh Report : “Within the Punjabi language there is no word for mental illness or depression. Metaphors and proverbs such as ‘my heart is heavy’, ‘my head is heavy’ and ‘sinking heart’ are common in the vocabulary of the older generation, and do not resonate with western biomedical terms or definitions for mental illness.”

In a survey published in the report, 35 per cent of Sikhs said that their job was the major cause of stress, while a further 27 per cent said the stress was due to family responsibilities.

Observing that British Sikhs have been known to visit Hindu priests or Sufi spiritual guides (pir) for cures of mental health. “This internal wall of silence, in turn, has also meant that the Sikh community has been viewed externally as a success story–families successful in education, employment and business, enjoying ‘perfect’ lives when actually, if we scratch at the veneer of this successful community, problems of depression and mental ill health soon present themselves,” Jhutti-Johal wrote in the article which analyzed the data from the report.

Nick Bourne, minister for faith and integration said that poor mental health can impact people of all faiths and backgrounds and it is encouraging to see this report raising awareness of this issue among British Sikhs, Bourne said reported Hindustan Times.

“Sikhs everywhere should be proud of this report in not shying away from difficult subjects. I encourage everyone to read these findings carefully and continue to support this excellent and challenging work,” he added.

Supported by various Sikh organizations and City of London Police, the British Sikh Report is an annual report that aims to identify the needs and wants of Sikh diaspora in the United Kingdom so as to form a basis for engagement with political and community leaders.

“Mental health has been a taboo subject for Sikhs for years. This data helps us understand what the challenges are, and with three quarters of Sikhs knowing someone with poor mental health, it’s clear that this is something that affects all of us,” Singh quoted as saying by HT.

A survey commissioned by BBC  earlier showed that 27 per cent of Sikh diaspora in the United Kingdom has a family member who has an alcohol problem.