Covid-19 | Anxiety, depression top concerns on govt. helpline amid second wave

26,047 calls received at Social Justice Ministry’s mental health call centres

Anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress have been among the most common problems reported by callers to the Social Justice Ministry’s mental health helpline, with many States seeing an increase in calls during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to officials. According to the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) data, a total of 26,047 calls were received by the KIRAN helpline till April 30 from September 16, 2020. While the number of calls overall saw a decrease from March (3,617) to April (3,371), there was an increase in some States, including Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Haryana, where the number of calls more than doubled from 73 in March to 170 in April. A senior official from one of the regional centres of the helpline, who wished not to be named, said most of the callers in the past month had raised concerns regarding the second wave of the pandemic after being diagnosed with COVID-19. The official added that the increase in calls could be partially due to the helpline being promoted as a COVID-19-related mental health resource during the second wave in the region.