Covid-19: Sassoon hospital’s psychological helpline gets 40 calls in 24 hrs
These calls are from people seeking assistance in issues like depression, loneliness, irritation, sleep deprivation, fear and family conflict, according to experts
Since the announcement of a 21-day lockdown period on March 24 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to curtail the spread of Covid-19 (coronavirus) cases caused due to the Sars-CoV-2 virus, psychological helpline numbers, including the suicide helplines, have witnessed an increase in the number of calls.
Sassoon General hospital on Tuesday launched a 24X7 psychological helpline number for those who may face issues of depression and loneliness due to the lockdown. The helpline number received 40 calls in just 24 hours, according to Dr Nitin Abhivant, head of the psychiatric department, which has started the helpline.
These calls are from people seeking assistance in issues like depression, loneliness, irritation, sleep deprivation, fear and family conflict, according to experts.
“People were seeking psychological help in OPDs and so we decided to launch a dedicated helpline number. The most common complaint from the callers is fear and anxiety due to the rapidly changing socio-economic conditions and also their physical well-being,” said Dr Abhivant.
“Any disaster has a direct impact on the mental health of a person. Within such a short span people are seeing such rapid changes which are bound to have a psychological impact,” he said.
“We counsel them and if they need admission or medical treatment we recommend them to come to Sassoon or the nearest government hospital. This fear is among all socio-economic class,” said Dr Abhivant.
Dr Abhivant also added that not only common people, but health workers at the forefront are also seeking mental help. He said, “Medical workers are also facing these issues as they are physically and mentally exhausted. They also need morale-boosting and we help them with that.”
“The government must look into this issue as well because the psychological impact of this condition is huge and even after the infection reduces, the long term impacts need to be tackled,” he added.
Johnson Thomas, director, Aasra, a crisis intervention centre for the lonely, distressed and suicidal, said, “People reaching out to us through our helpline number has increased after the lockdown was announced.”
“Even though all the family members are at home they do not communicate with each other as they are busy on their mobile phones and this is leading to conflicts between parents and children,” said Thomas.
“The couples with distressed relations are facing more issues as they are confined in their houses all day,” he said.
“Senior citizens seek communication and interaction with family members during this time of distress, but as they do not get the required support and help they seek assistance from helpline numbers,” said Thomas.
“Staying together all the time also has its own issues as it leads to aggravating the problems and even minor conflicts become a major point of tussle,” he added.
Need psychological assistance? Call on
Sassoon helpline number 02026127331
Aasra helpline number 022 2754 6669