Though the number of Covid-19 infections in the country is at its lowest since the pandemic started, call volumes of professionals seeking support for mental and emotional health still remain at an elevated level.
Data from psychological health platform InnerHour shows that the volume of callers seeking counselling support on its helplines is 6-7 times of what it was during the pre-pandemic times. The level of stress and anxiety among professionals is the same as last year, showing no signs of ebbing even though life and business are limping back to normal.
Others such as 1to1help.net, a leading employee mental health service provider, said that in April-May nearly 20% of its clients who called in for support for stress complained of extreme distress and depression – a stage where people feel overwhelmed and cannot handle the stress on their own. Pre-Covid days, the number of distressed callers were about 10%.
“An extended period of chronic stress has led to a burnout among many people. The yoyo of good and bad news added to the endemic of mental and emotional stress,” said Amit Malik, founder and CEO of Innerhour.
Some of the top symptoms people are calling in for support include panic attack, sleeplessness, mental fatigue, high anxiety, inability to focus or concentrate, frequent arguments with loved ones, and doubts and hopelessness about the future, said mental health experts and Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) service providers.
Many people spoke about anxiety about returning to work – managing routines differently, feeling anxious about the new structure, loss of productivity, fear of job loss and difficulty about settling into the new normal, said Archana Bisht, director, 1to1help.net. “Life feels rearranged again,” said Bisht.
“People are also worried about kids, finding support for them or putting them in creche/depending on external support, worried about their safety as well,” she added. “Then there are people who have relocated back to their hometown during Covid , now with companies insisting on returning to office they have to start looking for accommodation and coming back to base location which is leading to a lot of stress and anxiety for many people,” Bisht added. Also, many people found work from home more cost effective but now that is also increasing apart from the added stress of travel to work.
A recent survey by HappyPlus Consulting of over 20,000 Indians shows that seven out of 10 Indians feel nervous and stressed on a regular basis. Major reasons for stress are Covid-19 uncertainties, health, financial empowerment, family & friends, workplace pressure.
Another survey that reached out to over 5,000 professionals showed that 53% of the people said that they have a lot of stress related to the workplace.
“The top reasons that people cited were unrealistic workplace expectations, return to office and travel stress. There is huge productivity anxiety among people as they find it difficult to cope with the new normal,” said Ashish Ambasta, founder-CEO, HappyPlus Consulting.
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