Trigger warning: The following article contains references to self-harm; please avoid reading if you feel disturbed by violence
On April 26, it took Areeba (name changed to protect privacy), a counsellor at the Tele Manas helpline in Srinagar, over 40 minutes to deescalate a caller from north Kashmir’s Baramulla from the risk of self-harm. “The 26-year-old labourer had a blade in his pocket. The person he worked for had not paid him, and he faced acute financial stress. His sister helped to take the blade away. We made him pause and introspect — we helped him see the light at the end of a dark tunnel,” Areeba said.
Over the past six months, the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS) in Srinagar has received 10,500 calls from people in distress across Jammu and Kashmir’s toll free numbers 14416 and 1800-891-4416.
The highest number fielded was in Maharashtra, as per official figures released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Launched as a mental health care service by the Ministry last year, the 24x7 service in Srinagar has six psychologists.
The extent of Kashmir’s mental health crisis can be gauged from the fact that on the second day of Eid, otherwise an occasion of festivity in the Muslim-majority Union Territory (UT), the centre got 119 distress calls, most between 4 p.m. and 11 a.m.
Of the 10,500 calls attended to since November last year, around 3,000 were acute distress calls that ranged from self-harm to violence. Most self-harm was seen in those between 20 and 30 years. Up to 65% were from women, who expressed feelings of loneliness, and spoke about marriage conflict, post-partum stress, relationship trouble, and parental disagreements. For men, unemployment and financial distress triggered the calls.
“Last month, we received a number of calls related to examination stress,” Dr. Hina Hajini, a psychiatrist working with IMHANS, said. The centre arranged 2,500 follow-up calls in serious cases. “It would take people living in far-off areas two days to reach mental health care in Srinagar. Now, basic issues are handled on a call,” she said.
Besides mental health issues, the centre also talks about taboo subjects in conservative Kashmir. “We are able to destigmatise topics like dating, sexuality, and sexual orientation. Women talk about their issues freely now,” Manaal Andrabi, a psychologist from IMHANS, said.
In the wake of the growing response, the facility is being expanded to other regions too. “One more Tele Manas centre is under process in Jammu. Tele Manas is being linked to the district mental health programme across all J&K,” Dr. Qazi Haroon, State Programme Manager, Mental Health, J&K, said. An online chatbot will also be rolled out to address the needs of the people, which will be available on the existing numbers.
