Disturbed sleep tops list of complaints received on mental health helpline

New Delhi: An analysis of calls received on Tele-Manas - India's toll-free mental health helpline - has revealed that most people call for complaints related to disturbed sleep cycle. Since its launch in October 2022, Tele-Manas has attended to over 3.5 lakh calls from citizens across the country.

According to the assessment report on Tele-Manas that was released by the govt on Thursday, an overview of the type of complaints shows that the top four complaints relate to sleep disturbances (14 per cent), sadness of mood (14 per cent), stress-related (11 per cent) and anxiety (9 per cent). Overall, less than 3 per cent of total complaints have been identified as suicide-related cases, the report suggests. Majority of the callers on Tele-Manas helpline are male (56 per cent) and aged 18-45 years (72 per cent), it adds.

A 20-year-old young female student turned to Tele-Manas for help when sleep disturbances began to disrupt her life. According to the government report, it emerged that living in a hostel with some friends, her sleep cycle had fallen into disarray due to excessive use of cell phone and laptop.

Officials said that the overall profile of usage suggests that the majority of the complaints received on Tele-Manas are for common mental disorders.