Helplines have been flooded with phone calls from candidates awaiting results as well as their high-strung guardians

Examinations, and the results that follow, are known to put not only students, but also their concerned parents on the edge of their tether.


Savitha Kumar, psychotherapist at Vandrevala Foundation yesterday

This was made clear by the fact that a week before the HSC results were announced in the city, suicide helplines were being flooded with frantic and anxiety-stricken phone calls by parents and students alike.

"A lot of parents have been calling us, seeking relief from anxiety.

With exam results round the corner, they are nervous wrecks, not only about how their students fare, but also about how to handle depressed children who do not do well," said Savitha Kumar, psychotherapist at Vandrevala Foundation.
u00a0
"We received around 120 calls, of which 50 were exam-stress related. Majority of the callers are boys," said Neha Singh, a facilitator at the same organisation.

The helpline first tries to gauge if the caller is suicidal or not. If it is a simple case of the jitters, then the helpline counsellors try to provide the callers with some positive reinforcement and motivation.

However, if callers are displaying suicidal tendencies, then the calls are transferred onto psychiatrists.

The helplines at another organisations, like Aasra Suicide Prevention Centre, have also been flooded with phone calls.

"We received about 250 calls from anxious parents and students last week. Majority of them were girls. Immediately after the results were declared, we received as many as 17 calls.

Just before the results were declared we received 27 frantic calls," said Johnson Thomson, a facilitator at the organisation.u00a0

He added, "These callers are depressed and seek help, but they wish to remain anonymous. The phone is the only medium through which we can convince them not to take any fatal steps."

Help is just a call away

Vandrevala Foundation: 18602662345/ (022) 25706000
Lines are operational 24x7

Aasra Suicide Prevention Centre: (022) 27546667/ (022) 27546669
Lines are operational 24x7