Men access “KIRAN mental health rehabilitation helpline” more

What is the News?

According to a report by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment(SJE), 70% of callers to KIRAN (mental health rehabilitation helpline) are male.

Kiran helpline(1800-599-0019):

• Launched by: It was launched by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities(DEPwD). The Department works under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (SJE).
• Purpose: It aims to offer support for mental health through experts. Support includes early screening, psychological support, distress management, mental wellbeing psychological crisis, and referrals to mental health experts.
• It offers this support in 13 languages for any individual, family, NGOs, parent associations, professional associations, rehabilitation institutes, hospitals, etc.

Key Findings of the report:

• The helpline received 13,550 new calls of which 70.5% were from males and 29.5% from females.
• The majority of callers (75%) were in the age group of 15 to 40 years, while others were older, in the 41 to 60 age group.
• Majorly the challenges faced by the callers were related to anxiety, depression, pandemic-related challenges, suicidal tendency, substance abuse, and miscellaneous.
• Most of the calls were from the North zone, followed by West, South, East, and North East.

Source: The Hindu