Another Death Toll
By Chacko Jacob, a kanthari catalyst
(At kanthari instead of teachers or professors, we work with catalysts. Catalysts are not teachers in a conventional way, they are experts in one or the other subject, willing to exchange knowledge with participants who strive to becomes experts in their chosen fields.)
With cases of PTSD being reported widely among first responders, doctors, and nurses; high burnout rates at workplaces; and parents with young children showing signs of trauma-related mental health disorders: it’s evident that the world was not prepared for the psychological impact of quarantine due to an epidemic.
But there are beacons of hope amid this psychological storm. Sherin Noordheen from the 2017 generation of kantharis is a mental health activist and founder of Let’s Live. She experienced depression and suicide ideation at a young age and knows the value of emotional support to those who need it. Having lost her father at age 6 to suicide, she had a tough time navigating the conservative Malayalee middle class landscape that stigmatized suicide and mental health. Through Let’s Live, Sherin is cutting through this stigma and working to prevent suicides among the youth in the state of Kerala, India. A state where the reported number deaths due to Covid-19 are 2, and yet the suicides caused by issues arising from the lockdown are nearing 10, mostly due to alcohol withdrawal and fear of the illness.
Sherin comments, “Those who had mental health issues/who were under treatment seem to be taking this better than the regular crowd as they tend to be more comfortable in their home with less social contact otherwise as well… also some of them already have a continued form of emotional support [and are] hence sailing through.”
Sherin is doing a vlog series on Let’s Live’s Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/OrangeRoomTrivandrum/) that helps people who are suddenly forced to face their mental demons due to drastic routine changes. She stresses the importance of listening and providing non-judgemental support to members in your family that are showing symptoms of depression and anxiety.
To anyone out there who wasn’t convinced about putting mental health on the same stage as physical health, these times have certainly proved otherwise.
http://letslivekerala.org/