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J&K leads in mental health helpline calls

J&K leads in mental health helpline calls

Time of India20 hours ago
SRINAGAR: A quiet revolution is taking place in mental health care in Jammu & Kashmir. For many battling depression and dark thoughts, a single phone call is making all the difference.
The UT has emerged as India's leading performer in responding to mental health distress calls. Driving this transformation is Tele MANAS, a Centre-backed digital mental health support initiative. This was revealed during the national launch of video consultations under Tele MANAS and Hindi version of the Tele MANAS App 1.0 early this month.
The central govt announced the launch of National Tele Mental Health Programme in October 2022 to provide free, round-the-clock mental health counselling through digital platforms, aiming to make mental health care accessible nationwide.
A year later, Tele MANAS centres were established across various states, with the one in J&K emerging as among the first to become fully operational.
Of the 1,03,504 calls received by the centre so far, 87,450 were user-initiated while 15,731 were follow-up or outreach calls made by Tele MANAS. Topping the country list in terms of population-to-call ratio, the J&K Tele MANAS centre is also among the busiest, handling nearly 150 calls a day.
The centre, based on the premises of Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS), Kashmir, has 19 counsellors, seven psychiatrists, and a backup from a team of clinical psychologists from IMHANS, Kashmir.
When video consultations under the programme began in October 2023, J&K was among three states/UTs chosen. Since then, over 400 video consultations have been held and J&K is leading in both volume and adoption, Dr Naveen Kumar C, principal investigator at the national coordinating centre, said.
He said video consultations were a significant shift from audio-only interactions as it allowed far more effective clinical engagement.
Prof Arshid Hussain, Tele MANAS in-charge at IMHANS, Kashmir, attributed the service's success to a combination of J&K's digitally connected population and awareness about the programme among them. He said the centre was getting calls from all over J&K, including areas like Gurez and Karnah along the LoC in the valley, and border areas of Rajouri, Poonch, Doda, Kishtwar, Kathua and Reasi in Jammu.
The most common issue reported through Tele MANAS has been persistent low mood-related depressive symptoms, accounting for 38.5% of all cases. This is followed by anxiety-related issues, including generalized anxiety, panic attacks and phobias, making up nearly 20% of calls. Around 9.27% users sought help for stress linked to exams, workplace pressure, or relationship difficulties. Nearly 4% showed symptoms of losing touch with reality like hallucinations or delusional thinking while disturbing, suicidal thoughts or past attempts were recorded in 3.4% of consultations.
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In eye make-up, the level of mercury should not exceed 70 parts per million (0.007 per cent), calculated as the metal, as a preservative. In other finished cosmetic products, 'unintentional mercury shall not exceed 1 ppm'. However, the DCGI wants stricter standards, which align with the Minamata Convention that calls for a complete ban on the use of mercury. Now, if the government does adhere to the DCGI's recommendations, it would be looking to identify cosmetics containing mercury and phase out their sale from the $20-billion Indian cosmetics market and from online platforms this year. For this purpose, the government may ask cosmetic companies to self-declare whether they use mercury. This will be followed by surprise lab tests and random sampling by regulators such as the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO). 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