Covid Takes A Mental Toll

Calls flood suicide prevention helplines as loneliness, virus fears & job insecurity keep Capital on edge

- Isha Gupta and Chayyanika Nigam

A 34-YEAR-OLD working professional in Paschim Vihar is undergoing regular counselling after her mother approached a psychiatrist worried over suicidal tendencies that her daughter had developed over the last fortnight. “She was already stressed due to her divorce proceedings. Now her company has deducted 25% of her salary and is firing many people. She has lost all hope, especially after knowing that the Covid-19 is going to stay for a long time,” the mother told the psychiatrist.

“She tried to commit suicide by consuming some drugs, but puked out everything within seconds. Every day she says that she doesn’t want this painful life as the world is going to end,” added her mother.

Simran, 31, another private sector employee based in Delhi, wakes up to rising Covid-19 numbers every morning – that leave her anxious, angry and on the edge. She said one of the reasons she is frustrated is because she feels claustrophobic at home, due to the lockdown.

These are not isolated cases. Uncertainty, desolation and the economic despair triggered by the pandemic has led to a spurt in distress calls to the country’s suicide prevention helplines. The Mumbai-based Vandrevala Foundation, for instance, a charity organisation that aims to provide aid to those suffering from mental health issues in India, used to receive 90 calls a day before the lockdown. Since the lockdown began, these calls have gone up to 150 a day. Also, the emails received by the agency have gone up from 80 to 120.

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