Maharashtra mental health helpline gets 97,372 calls since launch; sadness most reported issue

As a portion of the National Mental Health Programme, Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States (Tele-MANAS) toll-free helpline was launched crossed India.

In Maharashtra, the helpline is established crossed 4 centres: Pune, Nagpur, Beed, and Thane.

Each centre is staffed with astir 20 counsellors dedicated to assisting callers. These counselors person qualifications successful counseling oregon societal work. It has truthful acold received, connected an average, 267 calls per day, according to information released by the authorities wellness section connected World Mental Health Day.

Among the prevalent complaints, sadness of temper was the astir reported issue, with 13,274 calls.

Stress-related concerns followed closely, reflecting precocious accent levels among individuals. Anxiety and slumber disturbances were besides commonly reported. Additional concerns included reduced slumber and assorted intelligence issues.

Other notable complaints progressive aggression oregon hazard of harm to others, narration conflicts, and feelings of hopelessness oregon worthlessness. Calls related to substance usage and addiction were besides frequent, on with aesculapian issues.

Approximately 88.41 per cent of the calls were routine, information-related inquiries comprised 6.57 per cent of the calls, portion prank calls accounted for 3.83 per cent. Emergency calls represented 1.19 per cent, highlighting the request for contiguous intervention.

Dr. Swapnil Lale, Additional Director of Health Services successful Maharashtra, stated, “We person observed that the bulk of calls travel from individuals aged 18 to 45 years, with 60 per cent of the callers being male. This quality successful telephone measurement betwixt men and women reflects varying intelligence wellness challenges and societal factors that whitethorn power their willingness to question support.”

A concerning inclination has emerged, with 1.3 per cent of callers aged 0-12 years, suggesting that adjacent children are grappling with affectional difficulties.

“Adolescents often scope retired to intelligence wellness helplines for assorted reasons, including affectional distress, accent from world pressures, and struggles with identity. Family conflicts, experiences of bullying, substance usage issues, and intelligence wellness disorders besides punctual them to question support,” Dr. Lale added.

Counsellors often person calls from schoolhouse students experiencing exam-related stress, uncertainty astir vocation choices, and anxiousness implicit admittance failures.

“Dealing with children tin beryllium tricky, arsenic they are often delicate and reluctant to stock idiosyncratic details similar names oregon addresses,” noted a counsellor.

Many callers mistakenly construe palpitations caused by anxiousness arsenic signs of a bosom attack. “In exigency calls, we absorption connected calming them down to forestall immoderate harmful actions. Each territory infirmary has 10 beds disposable for those successful need, and we promote them to sojourn a adjacent facility,” the counsellor explained.

Mental wellness issues are not confined to affluent adults. Stigma continues to deter galore from visiting psychiatrists.

“However, done these telephonic conversations, they tin question help. In astir cases, callers don’t necessitate medication; elemental manner changes similar diet, exercise, and meditation are often sufficient. In much terrible cases, we urge consulting a doctor. We person besides made psychiatrists disposable astatine superior wellness centers for consultations,” Dr. Lale concluded.