Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The Tele-MANAS (Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States) helpline, started to provide counselling to people going through any mental health issue, receives at least 115 to 130 calls daily.
The helpline has received over 3,830 calls at the Indore centre in the month of December of which over 73 per cent are from people, who are in the age group of 18 to 45 years.
The helpline has received more than 42,000 calls since its inception in October 2022.
Moreover, the data also shows that major problems witnessed among people in this age group were depression, anxiety, professional issues, and exam-related issues.
In-charge of Tele MANAS cell, Indore, Dr Krishna Mishra said, “Under the guidance of Dr VS Pal, we are managing the calls and providing appropriate care to the patients. More than 60 per cent calls of the people in this age group are depression related. There are multiple reasons, including changing lifestyle, career confusion, issue in sleep cycle, unhealthy diet, excessive consumption of alcohol and other such substances and peer pressure making people seek assistance on Tele MANAS helpline.”
He added that the 18-45 age group constitutes the working population and is the most active group. “This age group has maximum exposure and has to deal with a toxic environment and people causing issues related to mental health illness,” Dr Mishra added.
Tele-MANAS aims to provide round-the-clock free tele-mental health services all over the country, catering even to people in remote or under-served areas.
The programme includes a network of 23 tele-mental health centres of excellence, with NIMHANS being the nodal centre and the International Institute of Information Technology-Bangalore (IIITB) providing technical support. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bengaluru and the National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHRSC) provide technical support.
One of these centres was started in the Government Mental Hospital, Indore, associated with MGM Medical College which has 11 counsellors working 24/7 to provide mental health support to the patients.
Received calls from kids of age below 12 years
The helpline’s data showed that about two per cent of the total calls are of the people under the age of 12 years. “Yes, we receive calls from kids as well. We recently counselled a kid who was being bullied by his classmates due to lisping. He had stopped going to school and was irritated. We reached the student and counselled him after which he again joined the school and is now excelling,” the helpline in-charge said.
