Hyderabad: Lockdown triggers rise in mental health issues

Hyderabad: The lockdown has not just caused issues like lack of income and hunger but has also given rise to mental disturbances amongst the people. According to psychologists, after the lockdown they have been receiving more than 15 calls or complaints weekly regarding issues of anxiety and depression, and five calls per day pertaining to phobias or disorders. Since the lockdown, there has been an increase of approximately 30 per cent of the people contacting them with any kind of mental disturbances.

They also believe that face-to-face session is always good for initial sessions till the trust is built. Calming down and being mindful is very important. Panic leads to racing negative thoughts which leads to more panic thereby aggravating the situation. Diverting the mind, reaching out to family and friends are some techniques that help keep calm and have positive thinking.

Speaking to The Hans India, Afghan Jabeen, a Clinical psychologist and Dyslexia Therapist, Ripples Centre for Enhanced Learning, said, "There are a lot of online sessions where the students who are pursuing psychology have also started taking initiative to help them. People who have underlined previous psychiatric problems like anxiety, depression or any issue gets aggravated during the lock down."

Aliza Virani, an organisational psychologist, said, "There is an increase of the first timers of people who are unable to sit indoors for a long time. All of a sudden they have a lot of time and have no idea what to do. If they are going through any kind of anxiety or depression during the lock down, there are chances that they had vulnerability that already existed." There are a lot of helpline numbers that have been released by the Government of India.

Counselling depends a lot on the non verbal communication of an individual where excessive empathy is shown. However, when it is done over the phone, the effectiveness does reduce. Nevertheless, it helps to some extent. During group therapy we make them aware that they are not the only ones who are suffering. If people experience certain emotions and believe that they are not able to comprehend, then they might go forward and harm themselves."