After a decade in the US, NRI credits Indian healthcare system for recovery: 'India cured me'

The NRI said he was working as a staff data scientist in the US when he began experiencing health problems in 2017.

A Non-Resident Indian who spent nearly a decade in the United States has drawn widespread attention online after claiming that moving back to India had a transformative effect on his health and overall wellbeing.

In a post shared on Reddit, the individual said his return to India had “cured” him, both medically and emotionally. While acknowledging that the United States had played an important role in shaping his education and professional life, he said prolonged exposure to the American healthcare system left him disillusioned.

“India cured me. Literally and figuratively. I spent 10 years in America. While they were amazing for my education and career, I missed home and my family,” the user wrote.

The NRI said he was working as a staff data scientist in the US when he began experiencing health problems in 2017. According to the post, interactions with the healthcare system during that period revealed deeper concerns about how mental health was approached and communicated.

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“The US healthcare system has a lot of scary sounding terms and phrases that make normal anxiety issues seem much more complex and threatening than they are,” he wrote.

In 2018, he was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, a condition that combines symptoms of schizophrenia and mood disorders. Despite continuing to perform well professionally, he said he remained unconvinced by the diagnosis.

“If I still had schizophrenia, there is no way I could’ve done a degree and a job. People diagnosed with schizophrenia experience vivid, believable hallucinations and delusions,” he wrote.

Seeking further clarity, he later consulted a psychiatrist at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) in Bengaluru. According to the post, the specialist told him that his schizoaffective disorder had been in remission for some time.

“He told me that my schizoaffective disorder has been in remission for some time now. What I am diagnosed with now is mood disorder and occasional anxiety,” the user wrote.

He said the shift in care, rather than any drastic change in treatment, made a critical difference after he relocated to India last year.

“I moved back to India last year. I have been cured. Yet nothing has changed. Just access to a healthcare system and doctors that care, and do not see me as a money-making machine,” he added.

The post prompted extensive discussion online, with many users sharing similar experiences or expressing support for the decision to return. One commenter wrote, “Correct, India genuinely has some of the best healthcare in the world. I truly appreciate it and praise it everywhere.” Another said, “I was told by my US doctor that moving to US changes the gut microbiome which causes all sorts of issues from immunity to mood disorders.”

Others shared personal accounts of choosing India for medical care despite living abroad. “I agree with you. I live in NZ and gave birth in India willingly (also moving this year). It was the best decision ever. The care I received was unbelievably good,” one user commented.

"My pregnant wife had a delayed diagnosis at Northwestern Hospital - one of the top medical institutions in the world! A responsive mid-tier hospital is far more valuable than a world-class one with months-long wait times," another user remarked.