Bengaluru's National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) on October 27 opened its doors to the public giving them a tour of the operations and treatment methods followed at the hospital.

Fourty people participated in the 3-hour tour, the first of its kind for NIMHANS which conducted the program to eradicate stigma surrounding mental illness. Participants were educated on electroconvulsive therapy, used on 10% of patients after taking their consent. They were also given a tour of the NIMHANS Integrated Centre for Yoga (NICY) and were shown the various activities (candle-making, baking, snack-preparation) that patients indulged in. 

NIMHANS received 300 applications and this was the first batch. They plan to continue such tours to cover the rest. The participants being chosen are general public- not students or mental health professionals. NIMHANS aims to spread awareness on mental illness and kill the stigma, so people will be encouraged to refer individuals battling mental illness to the institute for treatment.