Experts hail govt's move to open mental health helpline for students

Bengaluru: The State government's move to launch a tele-helpline number for students to cope with distress has been welcomed by experts. Any student can reach out to the helpline number 080-46110007 in case of stress, anxiety or depression. "Success and failure are a part of life and they are like two faces of the same coin. SSLC students expecting results must not lose hope at all costs," Dr K. Sudhakar, State Health and Family Welfare Minister observed on Monday.

Dr Jini K. Gopinath, Chief Psychology Officer at YourDOST, an online counselling platform, says that students tend to feel extreme stress and intense anxiety over studies, which sometimes lead to death by suicide. "So, when one goes through an intense emotional turmoil or anxiety, negative thoughts are the mind's unusual coping strategy. Such episodes seem like you are going through a pitch-dark tunnel with no light or colour in sight, where there are no other options. Helplines with a neutral person, who can listen to your problems unconditionally and empathetically, will help the student in perspective building. When that emotional load dissipates, they will see beyond the dark, they will see the practical alternatives," he says.

"This is only from a generic anxiety perspective. But from a suicide perspective, there is another paradigm. These helplines buy time from the child. When one is in an intense emotional state with extreme thoughts on life, a call with a professional or a neutral person, who can tell you that it will be okay, will eventually help them buy some time. By the time those few hours are over, one might not be at the peak anymore, they may start negating the thought of death as the only option," he explains.

He appreciates the measures taken by the government. "Institutionalizing and implementing helplines is an immensely appreciated move. It is super healthy, coming from the government. it will help our adolescents sail through their difficulties adaptively, with the promise of someone a call away," he adds.

Madhava Reddy, Director at Heartfulness Education Trust, also says that it is a great step taken by the government towards mental health awareness. "Students are subjected to various kinds of pressures that are not related to the academic side. These include parental, societal, personal expectations, competition, and lot dealing with the outcome of milestones such as exam and exam results.

It is very important that students as well as parents, students are equipped with mental and emotional tools to understand the implications of the outcome (be it positive or negative), whether it meets their expectations or not, and how to deal with a situation at hand more effectively. It is not just that the results, results in themselves cause a lot of stress and anxiety, the anticipation of the results can cause a lot of dissonance in a student's mental and emotional well-being. It is therefore imperative that this is recognized and assistance is provided at the right time, towards this, the Karnataka government is in the right direction," he concludes.