Telangana: Distress calls keep Inter exam helpline busy

TSBIE recently published a 24-hour helpline number, 14416, for students to seek mental health support ahead of exams

Hyderabad: Ahead of the Intermediate Public Examinations (IPE) from March 15, the Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across the States (Tele-MANAS), an initiative of the union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) and the Telangana Health Department, is receiving a large number of distress calls from students seeking mental health support.

The Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education (TSBIE) recently publicised a 24-hour helpline number, 14416, for students to seek mental health support in view of the exams. Ever since, the toll-free number has not stopped ringing.

NIMHANS-trained counsellors manning the helpline informed Telangana Today that students are seeking help for depression, stress or academic pressure. In most cases, they were stressed about the exams due to the fear of failure. Adding to the exam stress, pressure to perform from family and college management is also taking a toll on the students’ mental health, they said.

“Students say that there is a lot of pressure from parents and lecturers to perform. We assisted those suffering from depression due to family issues, which in turn was affecting their preparation. We are also counselling parents on how to deal with their wards,” a counsellor at Tele-MANAS said.

The counsellors also came across two instances of students with suicidal tendencies reaching out for help. “They started their conversation sobbing and poured their hearts out. We realised the gravity of the situation and immediately put them under the care of psychiatrists. After thorough counselling, they got relief and we could sense that by the way they spoke. Each of these calls lasted about 50 minutes. We asked them to get back to us in case they need further support,” the counsellor said.

Interestingly, most students seeking assistance were day scholars rather than those from residential colleges, where students try to take extreme steps. “Students studying in residential colleges do not have mobile phones. But when they meet their parents, they use their parents’ phones and call us,” she said.