Mental Health Crisis Among The Elderly: Why It Shouldn’t Be Ignored

The three elderly sisters, aged 75, 80, and 83, in Kerala’s Thrissur district committed suicide last month. When it came to notice on January 30, police reached their house and found the three of them lying unconscious in their home. The eldest was lying in one room, and the other two were on a bed in another room. They had consumed pesticides in a suicide attempt. The eldest of them, who was bedridden, was declared dead at the hospital on the same day, whereas the youngest passed away the next day. The middle one dies on February 2. All three senior citizens were unmarried and were battling with age-related ailments.

As per the Hindustan Times report, police found a suicide note which mentioned that the elderly sisters were facing age-related issues and may be feeling loneliness with nobody to care for them.  

This incident raises a question about the extent to which seniors can be gripped by loneliness that they took the extreme step of ending their lives. Kerala is one of the states in India with a high proportion of the elderly population. As per the Population Projection Report in 2020, the Technical Group on Population Projections (TGPP), by 2036, Kerala is expected to become the state with the oldest population in India, from 13 per cent in 2011 to 23 per cent in 2036. The other few states that are expected to witness the highest proportion of elderly in the coming years are Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh.

But it is not just Kerala or Tamil Nadu or Himachal Pradesh; the elderly population across the country is rising, and is projected to double by 2050. Reportedly, according to a working paper by the International Institute of Migration and Development (IIMAD), since 1987, Kerala has made significant progress in spreading awareness of reproductive health and family planning. The result has shown in low fertility levels. Further, with better medical facilities, the mortality rate has reduced. People are living longer.

However, the situation becomes vulnerable when the young population has to move outside the state or even India to find work, leaving elderly parents and other family members behind. Living alone in old age is not a choice but a compulsion. The age-related health issues and gradual isolation from social connections give rise to loneliness and other mental health issues. Poor health conditions, social isolation, and many a time, the financial constraint make life lonely, sometimes to the extent of committing suicide.    

Notably, the state government has announced some notable measures recently, including the “Elderly Budget” for the first time. The Finance Minister, KN Balagopal, presented the budget for the elderly in addition to the state budget this time, where he announced fund allocation for elderly-focused segments, like health, social justice, etc., to make their life easier.

The government announced to open retirement homes in all 14 districts with a fee-based accommodation in those, establish day care centres for the elderly, and initiate a pneumococcal vaccination programme for them.

In March 2025, the state government passed a law to create a commission for senior citizens. The Commission aims to focus on seniors’ welfare, protecting their rights, and the rehabilitation of the elderly.

In October 2025, the Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council (K-DISC) launched ‘Time Bank’, a pilot initiative to offer better care to seniors. Initially, launched with around 7000 individuals in Elikulam, Kottayam, this may be extended to other parts of the state, upon successful implementation. Under this initiative, people can volunteer their service to seniors; their time will be recorded and banked in the app, which they can redeem in their old age.

Considering the seriousness of the mental health and senior care issues, the Union Government in the Budget 2026 has also proposed to train 1,50,000 multiskilled caregivers.

While all these initiatives are in place, the suicide incident of three elderly sisters is a reminder that outreach is very crucial in the senior care space, specifically to address loneliness issues among them. With a growing elderly population a changing social structure, the measures need to be implemented in a timely manner.