Punjab’s helpline to beat lockdown stress getting 15 calls per hour

Facility receives 300 calls in just over two days of launch; 40 psychiatrists and counsellors from state government take calls at 1800 180 4104 from 10am to 8pm; caller remains anonymous to docs

Chandigarh: The lockdown and the curfew seems to have taken its toll on residents with the state government’s helpline on counselling for stress and anxiety that started functioning on Tuesday, receiving over 300 calls till Wednesday. It was launched on Monday evening. With a ten-hour timeline of 10am to 8pm, this turns out to be roughly 15 calls an hour.

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Forty psychiatrists and counsellors from the state health department take calls from 10am to 8pm at the helpline number 1800 180 4104. Governance reforms department additional chief secretary Vinni Mahajan had launched this helpline. Doctors and psychiatrists associated with the helpline do not get to know the name of the caller.

“Most calls we have received in two days are about people who are in extreme stress, just because they or somebody in their family has a mild cold or cough. A caller from Ludhiana called up, saying he was convinced he had contracted covid-19 based on such symptoms. Our psychiatrist took an hour to convince him that the fear was only because of the stress,” said Kamal Gupta, manager technical, department of governance reforms.

Another psychiatrist added that the unprecedented scenario over the past month had led to manifold rise in stress levels. He added that calls had been received from youngsters as well, who wanted to share their stress and relax before making critical choices for career and examinations to take. “We plan to expand this helpline to provide career counselling for young people. The department is working on it with speed,” governance reforms department CEO Ravi Bhagat said.