Recognising that the lockdown due to COVID-19 could be taking an emotional toll on youngsters and children, institutions in West Bengal are coming up with helpline facilities so that the affected can reach out to experts.
The University of Calcutta, West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights and Maheshtala College are some of the institutions that have roped in mental health professionals and counsellors to address problems of the young in the face of an unprecedented global crisis.
“My students and their parents are extremely anxious about the future. They come from economically disadvantaged background and they are unable to comprehend what’s going on. One girl asked me the other day, ‘Ma’am, are we all going to die?’ Another girl asked me, ‘Will life ever be normal again for us?’ They are undergoing immense stress and it is important we talk to them,” said Dr. Rumpa Das, principal of Maheshtala College.
The college has not only formed a core team to counsel students, parents and non-teaching staff but has also tied up with an organisation called Samabyathi Emotional Support Group to extend help to the needy.
On Wednesday, the University of Calcutta also issued a notification that the departments of psychology and applied psychology would provide free counselling services to all students of the university. It listed the names and numbers of the professors who could be reached at a specified time in a day or week.
But it is the children that are probably among the worst-hit by the nationwide lockdown, unable to comprehend why their routines have suddenly been disrupted and why there is restriction on going out of home.
The West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights has offered helpline numbers so that parents can reach out to experts about guidance on how to deal with children undergoing stress due to the lockdown. Last week, it circulated a list of 17 experts — including psychiatrists, paediatricians and counsellors — who can be reached at specified times of the day.
“Small children are unable to understand what exactly is the matter — why are they not going to school, why they cannot go out to play? They can sense something is the matter but they don’t know what exactly it is. In such situations children can turn cranky and need attention,” said Dr. Nilanjana Sanyal, a practising psychoanalyst who is on the panel of experts.
“Normally, this time of the year adults can be overheard planning holidays, but this year there is no such planning — everything looks uncertain. This is likely to add to the stress,” said Dr. Sanyal.
“The idea behind the helpline numbers,” she said, “is to create awareness among parents. First of all, they must take [the lockdown] as an opportunity to spend more time with their children, which many are unable to otherwise. This is a good time for mental bonding.”
‘Engage children’
“Secondly, parents should accommodate them and engage them. These two things are very important. Suppose a mother is cooking, she can always make the child participate in the process in a small way. If nothing else, she can lift the child and get it to stir [an under-preparation dish] with a ladle. The child will feel it is contributing [to the cooking],” Dr. Sanyal said.
