VIJAYAWADA: A 29-year-old student wanted to give up on his life after he failed to crack the competitive exam in the past seven years. The desperation to achieve success had bogged him down with stress, which impacted his health and strained his relationship with family members.
A 22-year-old college student from Eluru and a 16-year-old intermediate student from Vijayawada wanted to end their lives on similar lines. Drowned under the weight of academic pressure, examination stress and family conflict, the students were on the brink of self-destruction.
Thanks to the timely intervention of Tele-Manas, an initiative by the Union Health Ministry under the National Tele Mental Health Programme, which helped these students to keep going with a renewed sense of hope.
The first Tele-Manas centre in the State was launched at Siddhartha Medical College in Vijayawada in 2022. The mental health helpline prevented at least 60 suicides since October by offering much-needed support to those in the turbulent phase of their lives. Shockingly, of the total suicide bids foiled by the helpline in the last 11 months, nearly 50 per cent were related to students. While the highest number of calls were received from Anantapur, the lowest was recorded from Alluri Sitarama Raju district.
B. Lakshmi, a psychiatric social worker at TeleMANAS, stated, “We’ve received 9323 calls from across the State, including 100 emergencies. We have helped around 60 survivors regain control of their lives, including nearly 450 students.”
J. Narasinga Rao, Joint Director of Non-Communicable Diseases, stated, “Initially, we received only 10-15 calls, but now we are at least 100 on a daily basis. We have stepped up the promotion of toll-free number 14416. For World Suicide Prevention Day, we will host special programmes in schools and colleges in all districts. These efforts extend beyond the week, with monthly programmes for specific target groups like students and the elderly.”
It may be noted that the Centre had sanctioned two Tele-Manas centres for Andhra Pradesh, however, the one in Visakhapatnam is yet to be launched. Following the instructions of Commissioner for Health and Family Welfare J Nivas, a team of 17 members, including 14 trained counsellors, one psychiatric social worker, one technical coordinator, and one attendee, operates round-the-clock to provide support for mental health issues.
All the counsellors have been trained by the Regional Coordination Centre, National Institute Of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences, Bangalore. Meanwhile, the Tele-Manas centre has been linked with the Department of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, AIIMS, Mangalagiri for suggestions and medication for severe patients. From depression and anxiety to stress-related problems, sleep disturbances, familial conflicts, and more, Tele-Manas is equipped to address the full spectrum of mental health concerns. To access Tele-MANAS, individuals can dial the toll-free number (14416) and can seek immediate assistance.
‘Emotional first-aid need of the hour for people seeking to end their lives’
KADAPA: Emotional first-aid is the need of the hour for the person who has the intention to die by suicide, says noted psychiatrist Dr Indla Rama Subba Reddy, who has been tirelessly serving the public for the past four decades and has fought against social evils such as black magic.
Sharing his views on the prevention of suicides with TNIE, Dr Reddy emphasised, “Increased academic pressure, alcoholism, drugs, friendship, love, video games, spending too much time on social media, and unemployment have led to an increase in suicides among the youths. Parents should teach children how to cope with stress without making them prone to over-exertion and should spend some quality time with their children.”
Disclosing that men tend to end their lives more than women, he said that due to the excessive production of cortisol, the stress hormone, in our body, most suicides occur between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m. “It has also been historically proven that many people died by suicide in some families due to the influence of genetics. Suicides increased by 10 per cent during Covid than before. However during the same period, student suicides have decreased by 25 per cent,” he added.
To prevent suicides, he opined, “The sale of alcohol to youth below 20 years should be prohibited. Replacing ceiling fans with wall fans in hostels can help curb suicides to a large extent.” He went on to say that financial support by the government to the poor can curb suicides.
(With inputs from S Nagaraja Rao)