CHENNAI: Your thoughts are racing and your breath is shallow; a sudden feeling of strangeness and aloneness engulfs you. For anybody struggling with mental health issues, this scenario might be relatable. Even though there are a lot of discussions about mental health, the question that continues to worry most people is — how to ask for help? In 1986, when the topic of mental health was taboo, Dr Laxmi Vijayakumar made it her mission to encourage people to take the first step, to reach out, and for this, she founded Sneha.
The organisation, which offers emotional support for the distressed, depressed or those who feel suicidal, recently launched a live chat facility as a part of its services. “During COVID, mental health issues were on the rise and a lot of people contacted us. More than 50% of the youngsters preferred the chat option instead of calls. So, we thought of launching the chat option as an addition to the existing crisis helpline and email support that the organisation is already offering,” says Dr Laxmi, in an interaction with CE.
Lending an ear
American professor and writer Brene Brown says, “What we don’t need amid struggle is a shame for being human.” When there is a lot of shame associated with reaching out and admitting that you need help, organisations like Sneha, with their guarantee of confidentiality, step in and provide a platform to make a courageous move. “What we need is dedication and the support of volunteers. Right now we have more than 30 volunteers. We have worked for 365 days since our establishment.
We couldn’t work for two days during the 2015 floods and 10 days during the pandemic,” shares Dr Laxmi. With the chat option from 10 pm to 1 am and the phone services from 10 am to 10 pm, the volunteers hope to extend their services to 24X7. Explaining more about the chat option, Dr Laxmi says, “We have taken assistance from a group of people at IIM Hyderabad for technical functions. We had discussions with a few software employees for further additions. We also have volunteers supporting us, especially for technical assistance.”
Voices of the volunteers
The volunteers of the organisation are trained online for a week and offline for three days. To people who want counselling and advice in person, the organisation welcomes them to provide offline help. A volunteer from Sneha, on condition of anonymity, shares, “I have been volunteering for 23 years now. Over the years, the amount of people walking into the office has reduced as we have assisted by phone and e-mail. Even though initially, the people who reached out through e-mail were few, we found that many people from the younger crowd were reaching us.” Another volunteer says, “Through phone calls and in-person assistance, we can try and understand their emotions. Through chat, we have to pay attention to the choice of words. Technical platforms are not complicated, thus we hope that more people avail of our services.”
Being a volunteer also takes a toll on mental health, as the volunteer shares, “People who call, share their intense feelings.” But the organisation also looks out for the volunteers and guarantees that things won’t go overboard for anybody. Sneha also collaborates with Befrienders India, an organisation that coordinates the activities of national helplines or member centres working towards suicide prevention. In the coming years, the organisation hopes to improve their technical facilities and extend their support even to early morning hours.
Dr Laxmi concludes, “Due to the fewer volunteers, people have to wait in line for help. We are trying to resolve that problem and are actively searching for volunteers. Anybody who is above the age of 20 can join us. Further requirements are there on our website. To everyone who is struggling out there, my team and I urge you to reach out for help and communicate your thoughts and fears.”
How To Avail Of The Chat Option?