People!

I bring fresh news about 18005990019, India's first toll-free mental health helpline.

After multiple tries that went nowhere, I tried again just now.

It worked!

A very pleasant male counselor spoke with me for 12 mins. Lots to appreciate. I'm actually smiling

+ https://twitter.com/toymango/status/1301118830874374150

The only gripe I have is that though I had chosen English as my preferred language, I had to speak in Hindi. This is a problem. Despite possessing excellent Hindi, I stumbled when looking for certain specific words.

But that apart, it was a really nice chat. Simple, but nice. +

Me: "Thank you for picking up."
Counselor (C): "Nahi sir, this is my duty. I am not doing anything special."

1 million points.

Me: "I'm concerned about some senior citizens in my family and neighbourhood."

C: "I can imagine sir. I have aging parents too."

5 trillion points.+

Me: "My parents and others their age are struggling with anxiety because of Covid ... "
C: "Yes, they must be worried about getting sick, plus their movement is constrained."
Me: "Exactly ... how do we help them?"
C: "Sir, often, what the elderly really crave is dialogue..."+

C: "When the bridge between us and them breaks, often that is when they start feeling low. Let me tell you about my father. When I was a child I was very scared of him. I'd never speak to him.

But now he is old. And I have started making the effort to regularly talk to him."+

C: "We don't even have the time for dialogue with ourselves sir (smiles).

You know, I now realise that when we go to older people with our own problems, it makes them so happy. There's this lonely uncle in my neighborhood. One day I went to him and said ... " +

C: "... Uncle, I have a bump in my head and I am frightened it could be a tumour.

Uncle spoke to me so nicely, I stopped feeling afraid. And he was also happy by the end of it!

Older people want to know that they can still solve our problems, sir."

10 trillion points. +

Of course, I was tempted to ask: But what if you're angry with older people for messing up your life? How do you have "dialogue" with them then?

But I had to remind myself that I wasn't calling to talk about me! Also, I didn't have the heart to poke this pleasant, earnest man.+

Me: "Sir may I ask you about something else? You know how WhatsApp has become a factory of fake news and panic-inducing forwards. My parents live far, I can't ask them to delete WhatsApp. How do I protect them?

C: "(Smiles). Sir I think this also begins with talking to them."+

C: "Whatever it is that you're worried about, sit down and talk. Simply doing this solves a lot of their mood problems.

But if you need more specialised advice, here are (gives me three numbers - one COVID telehealth helpline by IBHAS and two mental health professionals)."+

Every time I fell silent, he'd check to see if I am still able to hear him.

Spoke gently, didn't talk down.

Understood that while I was calling ostensibly to ask about older people, *I* was his 'client'. He needed to put *me* at ease. And he did that.

10 trillion points.+

This was a quality conversation, with simple, practical tips delivered with a smile that could help a lot of callers concerned about a really big problem. I felt validated. The counselor was patient and mindful and didn't lecture me. Allowed me to speak.

10 trillion points.+

I hung up feeling satisfied, even happy! 10/10 recommend.

Thank you @RaashiThakran. I may not have called again after the first few failed attempts had you not reached out to me.

Everyone: Save and share widely:

18005990019: Kiran - national toll-free mental health helpline +

To be sure, helplines alone can't solve anything. Eg, existing suicide prevention helplines have a patchy track record when it comes to availability and service quality. Mental health calls for a multisectoral, multi-stakeholder strategy.

But we have to laud a good attempt.+

So:
- 18005990019, India's first national toll-free mental health helpline, does seem to work, even though its official launch is delayed
-It'd be great if people from diff states could keep calling in and flagging glitches to @MSJEGOI
-Guess I can reup my deleted tweet now!

Cc @PatientsEngage @DevinaB21 @drsitu @drempath_ tried to capture the current scene with as much clarity as I could I will keep checking.